Herald International
The Impact Of Revival In Evangelism And Missions
“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You” (Psa. 51:12-13).
One of the reasons to pray and seek the Lord for revival in our own lives and in the church is because of the impact revival has in evangelism and missions’ work. Consider, for example, the following quotes, which point out this vital connection:
“To understand aright the fruitfulness of this period it should be borne in mind that Mr. [Hudson] Taylor, among others, was reaping the aftermath of the great revival of 1859. That wonderful spiritual awakening had not only swept thousands into the church of Christ; it had prepared the way for a new order of things, an up-springing of individual faith and effort, characterized by love for souls and new resourcefulness in seeking their salvation.” – Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor
“In every revival there is a reemphasis of the church’s missionary character. Men return to Calvary, and the world is seen afresh through the eyes of Christ. The infinite compassion of Christ fills the heart, and the passion evoked by Calvary demands the whole wide world as the fruit of His sacrifice.” – John Shearer
“…It is amidst the effusions of the Spirit of God that men are trained to engage actively and efficiently in the great enterprise of Christian benevolence: here they are to have their hearts and their hands opened in behalf of those who are sitting in the region and shadow of death: here they are to catch that spirit of zeal, and self-denial, and holy resolution, which will lead them to attempt great things, and by God’s blessing to accomplish great things, towards the moral renovation of the world. I hardly need to say that all our great benevolent institutions – our Missionary, and Bible, and Tract, and Education...and all kindred societies, have flourished most where the influences of God’s grace have been most abundantly experienced.” – William B. Sprague
“There is need of a great revival of spiritual life, of truly fervent devotion to our Lord Jesus, of entire consecration to His service. It is only in a church in which this spirit of revival has at least begun, that there is any hope of radical change in the relation of the majority of our Christian people to mission work.” – Andrew Murray
“A mighty spiritual revival in the church is the fundamental need of the hour; it is the only thing that will avail. …When revival comes the problems of missionary recruits and missionary support will be solved.” – Robert Hall Glover
“It is a want of a revived godliness in our church at home which prevents our hoping for any great success abroad. Ah! brethren, we must till our own vineyards better, or else God will not make us successful in driving the plough across the broad acres of the continents. ...Just as the anointing oil was first poured on Aaron’s head, and then went to the skirts of the garment, so must the Holy Spirit be poured on us, and then shall it go to the utmost borders of the habitable earth.” – Charles H. Spurgeon
“Our sufficiency is of God. Difficulties melt in His presence. In Him are those mighty, overcoming energies, which accomplish the possible and the impossible with equal readiness. …The real resources are with Him for the evangelizing and the redeeming of the world. But He has not been able to do ‘many mighty works’ in the non-Christian lands, because of our unbelief as a church. We have not possessed our possessions. God has been waiting to be honored by the faith of a generation that would call upon Him for really large outpourings of His power.” – J. Lovell Murray
“The main reason we should be praying about revival is that we are anxious to see God’s name vindicated and His glory manifested. We should be anxious to see something happening that will arrest the nations, all the peoples, and cause them to stop and think again.” – Martin Lloyd-Jones