What is a revival or awakening?
• Awakening - God decides to move causing us to see greater levels of power and fruit of the Holy Spirit. This results in many who are far from God being transformed into people of God.
• Revival - God decides to move powerfully in His church causing many in the church to live out deeper levels of conviction, passion, and devotion to God. The call to follow Jesus is seen and not just heard or talked about.
• Many combine both of these under the term “Revival”

“How soon we forget! While we must never despise the ordinary means of grace that God customarily uses in the salvation of men and women, we must not forget those extraordinary times when in His mercy God has seemed to come down and pour out His Spirit in such transforming power that all of our expectations are reduced to rubble in the sheer glory of the transforming presence of God.” (D.A. Carson)

“For if our belief is dominated by the coming again of Jesus or a re-awakening to the power of God, there is little room left in our hearts for anxieties or sinful fantasies.” (Eugene Peterson)

The First Great Awakening - 1734-1750
• Europe and part of the New England colonies

The Second Great Awakening - Early to mid 1800s
• Western colonies at the time, New York, Ohio, and Kentucky

The Businessman or Lunch Hour Revival - 1857-1860
• New York and beyond

“The grand revival is becoming a universal thing throughout the Union. All of our exchanges (newspapers) from those ponderous city dailies down to the smallest of county weeklies fill columns to overflowing with accounts of revival and massive religious interest. The excitement spreads from city to city and from village to village. We hope it may continue to spread from place to place and from country to country until the whole world is following the “narrow path.” Let the work go on!” (Appleton Post-Crescent, April 10, 1858)

The Jesus Revolution - 1960’s to late 1970’s
• Started in California

R.A. Torrey’s three prescriptions for revival:
• Personally get right with God
• Pray that God moves powerfully
• Make yourself available to God to tell others about Him