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I agree with Conrad Lampan's article,
Conrad has written a wonderful
treatise as a response to the following statement:
A few moments ago I read an email that
quoted from Evan Roberts, the revivalist God used to spark the
1904 Welsh Revival:
“Evan Roberts prayed after seeking God 13 years for revival in
Wales, "Lord, the altar is built, the sacrifice is laid upon. We
await the fire from heaven to ignite the flames of revival." WE
ARE AT THIS STAGE OF REVIVAL IN AMERICA AND THE
WORLD. GET READY! GET READY! GET READY!”
Lampan
continues: Reading the above quote one question explodes in my
mind: can we seriously declare that “we
are ready”? Can we, looking at ourselves with all honesty declare
that we are “oh, so ready?” We need to take
another look in the direction of the Throne. When Isaiah saw the
Lord on His lofty throne he did not shout out “oh
how ready I am” rather he cried out: “Woe is me!” and only after
that he was sent by Lord. This is the readiness we need, an
encounter with the most High that will leave us “without strength”
like Daniel; or “as a dead man at His feet” as
John in Revelation; or an encounter that will set us off the horse
like Saul. Every man God used first had an encounter with God that
left them undone. HOW UNDONE ARE WE? Our “undoneness” is the most
accurate measure of our readiness.
What was
the sacrifice that was “laid upon the altar”? Evan Roberts
himself. He also said “I have reached out and touched the flame; I
am burning and waiting for a sign” We can read all the books, and
visit all the places, and be prayed for by every anointed
preacher, yet until we are ready to surrender it avails for
nothing, yet until we ourselves are burning no fire of revival
will ever burn. Wesley said when asked about what he did to have
revival: “I set myself on fire and people come to see
me burning”. Read more of Conrad Lampan at
www.revivalstudies.org
When I visited Loughor (pronounced, "Lock Ah")
at Moriah, in Swansea, Wales where Evan Roberts preached and the
revival was born in 1904, the current pastor told us the story of
the Welsh Revival.
The key to the revival he said, and its defining
moment did not occur at the church or at the school adjacent to
the church. It happened at a ladies' prayer meeting in a home
after Roberts had traveled to Brecon seeking and failing to
obtain matriculation so that he could be ordained.
Dejected, Roberts returned to Loughor and was
invited to speak to some ladies at a home prayer
meeting. There, on his knees, in utter desperation, Roberts spoke
two words: "Bend me!" The next morning he spoke to young students
at the church's school, and the rest is history.
When we finally come to the place of utter
desperation and cry "bend me!" God hears.
When we proudly proclaim, "WE ARE AT THIS STAGE OF
REVIVAL IN AMERICA AND THE WORLD. GET READY! GET READY! GET
READY!” I believe God simply says, "yes, why don't you -
we.....get ready?"
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