Lord, Do It Again, Pt. 3

Over the next few days, I will write about the four Spiritual Awakenings. I will share what I taught while a professor in two seminaries.

Lord, Do It Again, Pt. 3

"Will You not revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?"

(Psalm 85:6)

Over the next few days, I will write about the four Spiritual Awakenings. I will share what I taught while a professor in two seminaries. It will not be an exhaustive study, but hopefully it will give you a general overview of what God has done in the past. Some believe the Jesus Movement in 1970 should be in the category of a Spiritual Awakening. We have already looked at this powerful movement of God in the last two devotions, and I highly recommend you go and see the movie Jesus Revolution; it is so good!

It is helpful to distinguish between spiritual awakening (what God does in the lives of the lost) and revival (what He does in the lives of believers). However, the terms have been used interchangeably. I love Richard Owen Roberts' definition of revival as "the extraordinary movement of the Spirit of God producing extraordinary results."

The First Great Awakening occurred from around 1726 until 1776. Secular and Christian historians recognize that there was a mighty spiritual renewal in the American colonies at that time. Great Britain also encountered God in this Great Awakening. Men like John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield were powerfully used by God in bringing thousands to Christ. Some historians believe the awakening prevented England from experiencing the bloodbath that France endured in the French Revolution.

In America beforehand, our churches were greatly lacking in spiritual vitality, but in 1726, God began to work in the heart of a pastor named Theodore Frelinghuysen, a Dutch Reformed pastor in New Jersey. He emphasized these four things: evangelistic preaching, zealous visitation (where he would lead the way in visiting the lost in his community), church discipline, and lay preachers. God also stirred the heart of the Congregationalist pastor, Jonathan Edwards. Edwards served as a pastor in Massachusetts and preached his famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" in the 1740s, with many people getting saved. According to Perry Miller from Harvard University, Edwards was the greatest mind produced by colonial America, which is quite a high compliment.

There were many others God used in the FGA in America, like George Whitefield, the evangelist from Britain, and Shubal Stearns in the South. But I will close today's devotion with Edwards' 1741 publication: The Distinguishing Marks of the Work of the Spirit of God. One will know that a true spiritual awakening is happening if the following are present:

Jesus is greatly esteemed and exalted.
Satan's kingdom is diminished.
There is a deep regard and appreciation for the Bible.
Truth is championed.
There is a sincere love for God and people.

This is a very cursory and brief look at the FGA, but I hope it was enough to inspire you to thank God for what He did and motivate you to pray to God, asking Him to do this in our nation again!