"Merchant to Minister" Book insert: "Revivals"

Revivals

C.H. Spurgeon said, "It is an act of the adversary to turn us Christians from being soul-winners into bread-winners." I am afraid that is exactly what the devil has done. When we come to the Lord's day and realize the many beautiful Churches of Christendom--the beautiful music, the great organs that peal forth God's praise, and the many Christians assembled together in Christ's name, and the many thousands of well-educated ministers standing behind the sacred desks, and add to this picture the thousands of smaller churches, many well organized and capable, yet many Lord's Days pass in the majority of these Churches without a soul being saved.
And when you think of why Jesus came into the world, "To seek and save the lost," we can't help but ask the question: What has happened to us? It seems the devil is satisfied for us to be bread-winners and pleasure seekers--he doesn't want us to wake up to the truth. Of course, he fights revivals for he knows that is how the Church grows and prospers. Dr. F. B. Meyer said that "there has never been a great religious revival without social and political reforms." We might point out that the abolition of slavery followed a revival. The end of child labor came after the Wesleys and Whitefield preached their flaming message of revival. Also flowing like many streams from revivals came the YMCA, the Salvation Army, world missionary societies, and charitable institutions. Material blessings as well as the health of the people were fruits of revivals and of refreshment from the Lord. Psalms 85:13, "Righteousness shall go before Him; and shall set us in the way of his steps."
When the Lord our God moves through a land in a revival blessing, He lays out a way for his people to walk in--when they walk in His way the revival comes and Heaven opens--the blessings come. Revivals open the gates of Heaven.

Revive Us Again

We praise Thee, O God! for the Son of Thy love,
For Jesus who died, and is now gone above.

All glory and praise to the Lamb that was slain,
Who has borne all our sins, and has cleansed every stain.

Revive us again: fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled with fire from above.

Hallelujah! Thine the glory, Hallelujah! amen;
Hallelujah! Thine the glory, revive us again.

William P. MacKay John J. Hushband