Personal Renewal is What Counts
by David Arrol Macfarlane
“I want more of God” is a great statement because it can be the seed of a personal revival. Authentic faith means that we walk daily with a healthy spiritual hunger for more of the Lord in our life - a desire to live a renewed life, stay revived and have a fresh soul awakening. Often the Lord has used one ordinary “revived” person to spark a move of God that spreads like a forest fire throughout an area or even engulf a nation. Remember that God used an “inadequate” Moses to change the course of history for Israel, a “fearful” Jonah to bring the ungodly Ninevites to God, or a “fearful” Gideon to free his people. In Argentina, where I grew up, the nation went from less that 1% protestant when I was a boy to where, today, I have heard it reported that some 14% of the population have become evangelical, with many pointing to one layman, Carlos Anacondia, as the person most used to bring about this significant spiritual awakening.
Three tourists went to Wales in the early part of the 20th century to seek out the world renowned “Welsh Revival” which had awakened the churches throughout that nation, where thousands came to Christ and major positive social changes resulted from it. Not knowing where to go to find this revival the tourists went up to a bobby (policeman) and asked: “Could you please tell us where we can find the Welsh Revival?” To which it is reported that the policeman answered: “Sirs, the Welsh Revival is inside this uniform”. He meant that he had been revived by Christ. Revival is always first and foremost personal. If you are revived, God can use you as the spark to start an area-wide revival but, even if He didn’t, you will always benefit greatly from living passionately for Christ.
John the Baptist spearheaded a spiritual awakening in the first century. Here is how Jesus remembered him: “John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light” (John 5:35). May this be how Christ will remember you and me.
David Arrol Macfarlane is Director of National Initiatives for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and is a frequent speaker at conferences, city-wide events and churches across Canada. Contact David at 519 503 8380 or arrol.mac@hotmail.com