Definition of Revival 1/2
I would like to give you my definition of Revival. It is very important to understand what we are talking about when we use the word. Also, be careful when you hear Americans using the word; they can use it slightly differently. For instance, they might say they are off to a revival meeting, which, in my definition is just a Holy Spirit meeting.
When there is a move of God in a church, I would call that a RENEWAL or REFRESHING. Assuming that nearly everyone in church will be saved, they will experience refreshing through Holy Spirit. An example of this was the ‘Toronto Blessing’ of 1994. Many of our churches experienced this outpouring of God’s blessing. The church I was in at the time was very involved with this move of God, and I used to go in teams to churches that had never experienced a move of Holy Spirit. Some of us would give our testimony of what God had done in our lives and Holy Spirit would pour out in the church – it was very exciting.
What we largely failed to do with that outpouring was to take it to the streets, which is the second stage of a move of God. When that happens people are AWAKENED to their sins and to Jesus as being the answer. This is when many come to the Lord and is what most people are looking for when they talk about Revival. This is what John Arnott, the pastor of the church in Toronto where the outpouring started, believed would happen in the UK, but I believe that we never understood what God was trying to do.
