The Key Ingredient to a Third Great Awakening: True Revival

In 1965, just a year after I gave my life to Christ, I began to pray earnestly that I would see a Third Great Awakening sweep across the whole world. God laid this deep, persistent desire on my heart, and today, I am incredibly grateful that our AWAKE America campaign has joined together over 500,000 of God’s people to pray daily for an awakening in America. However, there is a crucial ingredient that must abide in the lives of believers before we will see such a move of God: true revival.

THE ROLE OF REVIVAL

Until God’s people demonstrate authentic personal revival that overflows to the home and local church, we will not experience an awakening in our nation. God’s desire for His Church is that we be in a continuous state of revival. Daily revival is daily repentance. It’s surrender and obedience every single moment, a longing for total obedience to the Word of God. We must keep short accounts with God—immediately turning to Him in confession and repentance when we sin. When we humbly repent before the Lord, God’s Spirit moves. Scripture gives us a powerful example of this principle in the story of Jonah.

Before the awakening in Nineveh took place, there was first a revival in Jonah’s heart. The most incredible miracle in Jonah’s life was not the storm (see Jonah 1:3-16), not his three-day journey in the belly of a fish (see 1:17), not even his survival (see 2:10). No, it was the moment when “the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time” (Jonah 3:1), and Jonah obeyed (see v. 3). Though Jonah initially rebelled against God’s call to carry an urgent, life-or-death message to Nineveh (see 1:1-3), God’s grace abounded. He accepted Jonah’s repentance and gave him another chance. Then and only then did Nineveh, the most pagan, dreadful, savage city on the face of the earth, experience an awakening.

GOD IS LOOKING FOR WILLING MESSENGERS

Our Lord never asks us to do anything unless He’s already prepared the way. Though we may be tempted to ask, “What can I possibly do?” I can assure you that when we respond in obedience— even standing alone—God moves in power. Moses asked God that question, and God answered him by freeing Israel and plundering the Egyptians. Nehemiah asked that question, and God answered him by conquering Artaxerxes’ heart. Peter, who denied Jesus thrice, basically asked the same thing, and God used him to bring 3,000 people to Christ through one sermon. Jonah asked the question, and God used him to bring about the greatest awakening in the history of the world.

GOD IS LOOKING FOR AUTHENTIC MESSENGERS

Tragically, today there are many churches preaching cheap grace, cheap repentance, and a cheap gospel. They say a person can continue to live as he or she did before coming to Christ and just add a little Jesus to their life. Preaching a watered-down, compromised message might draw a crowd, but it will not produce true salvation. It will not bring the Third Great Awakening we’ve been praying for. Jonah did not modify or popularize God’s message. It was simple, convicting, and urgent: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4). You see, the power was not in Jonah’s clever speech or brilliant communication. It was in the message of Truth—just as Paul proclaimed, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

Today and every day, we must let the Gospel dwell richly in our hearts. In this way we will be so struck by the glory of the Lord Jesus that we will experience daily, even moment-by-moment revival. We will shine like stars in the darkness. It is this revival in us that will draw many to the only Resurrection and Life—for an awakening that will bear eternal fruit.