WHAT IF REVIVAL DOESN’T COME?
(Selected Scriptures)

By Lasaro Flores
ALL OF GRACE MINISTRIES
http://www.allofgraceministries.org

Let us consider this issue with respect to What If Revival Doesn’t Come? As I have said previously that we don’t find any reference to a mighty revival or spiritual awakening taking place before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ for His Church. But we do find many references to the apostasy, or “a falling away” (2 Thessalonians 2:3); or “that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1). Now, if this is the case and if this is true, then why should we pray for revival if we are not promised one in the last days before the return of our glorious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ? Besides, there are those that do believe that we are not to pray for revival. Nevertheless, I believe that either way, we are to pray for revival and spiritual awakening; and more so, as we see the spiritual condition, and declination, of Christianity in “this adulterous and sinful generation” (Mark 8:38). If we are concerned for the spiritual state of the visible Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, then yes, we ought to be praying for revival and spiritual awakening. Amen.

By saying this, I’m not implying that we should go contrary to the Word of God. As I said, I don’t find anything in the New Testament with respect to a Revival and Spiritual Awakening taking place in the last days before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ; yet I believe that are many passages in the New Testament that, at least, indicates we are to pray for Revival and Spiritual Awakening for the Church. It might not be as explicit as in the Old Testament; for instance, “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?” (Psalm 85:6); or as in Habakkuk 3:2, “...O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy”. Nevertheless, such passages as the following should concerned us about prayer. Consider Ephesians 5:18 – “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit”. To not “be filled with the Spirit” indicates backsliding, I believe; and then, there is Revelation 2:4 – “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love”, which is definitely backsliding. Verse 5, I have to say, is Revival – “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent!”  Therefore, beloved people of God, this tells me, then, we have Scriptural authority to pray for Revival and Spiritual Awakening, which consists of being Revived, being Renewed, being Restored and being Reformed. Whenever this takes place in a backslidden Christian, they will “be filled with the Spirit” and will be reunited with their “first love”. Therefore, Let Us Pray!!!

But first, let us deal with the question from the negative side; and see what would be the consequences of it. Let us consider what would happen if revival doesn’t come; and to do this let me use the illustration of a fruit tree as a picture of backsliding Christians. In fact, Scriptures uses fruit trees as types of Christians: “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3). Therefore, “a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit” (Matthew 7:18) whenever backsliding comes into the life of the believer. But keep in mind that fruit trees are susceptible to disease and insects that will kill it. Another thing, if we don’t water the fruit tree, even if we fertilize it or try protecting it from disease or insects, it will start to wither. The longer this takes place; the fruit tree will dry up, even to the point of finally dying.

For its protection, we need to spray some sort of chemical that will bring healing to, or kill the insects that are destroying, the tree. This is applicable to backsliding Christians: In their backslidden condition, they have been infected by some spiritual “pestilence” and are being attacked by spiritual “insects” that can kill destroy them. They are not “spiritually healthy.” Also, if a fruit tree is not being watered and nourished; and also is infested with insects or some disease that would kill it, the only solution to stop this is to do what is necessary to revive the tree by making it healthy by watering, fertilizing it and getting rid of the disease and insects that are killing the tree. This simple illustration can be applied to backsliding Christians.

How does that apply to a backsliding Christians? Well, keeping in mind that “water” or “rain” is a type of the Holy Spirit and of the blessings of God, which goes to say that revival has to come from God. A backsliding Christian is one that is not being “rained” from heaven, i.e. is not filled with the Holy Spirit, which is absolutely necessary for revival, and/or being watered with the “showers of blessing” (Ezekiel 24:26) from on high. Furthermore, the backslider has to be “fertilized” by being “nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:6). Not only that, remember that backsliding brings in “spiritual diseases”, which are but the “insects” of sin in our lives., which can only be cleansed “by the blood of Jesus Christ his Son” (1 John 1:7). This means, then, these three things, at least, have to take place in a backsliding Christian in order to be restored to a healthy spiritual state. If not, the end of such professing “Christians” can proved to be fatal; and perhaps, tragic! Can a true believer die in a backslidden state and still be saved? Will a backslider enter heaven in such a deplorable state?

Well, let us consider two persons in the Scriptures that can be considered “backsliders”; and they are Lot and Samson. Lot in Genesis was a backslider; and this is proven when he went to live in Sodom (Genesis 19). Yet, God of His grace took him out him of Sodom; and although he suffered the consequences of his backsliding by losing his wife and what his daughters did with him, he was not left in his “backsliding”. He was “restored” back to the Lord; and is considered to be one of God’s elect (cp. 2 Peter 2:6-8ff.). The same with Samson: Judges 13-16. His life may be considered to be “backsliding” because of the way he lived, but we may be able to say that the way he lost his life was the consequence of his backsliding. In fact, he had to lose his eyes in order to be able to see, which means he was “restored” back to the Lord. Does this mean anything? Yes, it means that God will not permit any of His elect to die in a backslidden state! They will be REVIVED and AWAKENED SPIRITAULLY before they enter eternity. I believe this principle is very evident in the New Testament; and this is seen by so many Scriptures that at the least imply Revival and Spiritual Awakening of backsliding Christians; as we will see later in the message.

Nonetheless, we still have to answer the question: What If Revival Doesn’t Come? What can happen to backsliding professing Christians? Let me answer by making three assertions: In the first place, God may permit some of His people to die without revival; as we can see that what happens to Solomon. Read 1 Kings 11; esp. vss. 4, 6 –“For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father”; “And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father”. There is no indication that Solomon experience any sort of revival, but died with the effects of his very serious backsliding; as is evident with the results of it. In the second place, we see the Apostle Paul’s joy and assurance of a continuous revival in his life as evidenced by his victorious words: “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8). But then in the third place, we see a very tragic example when God leaves professing Christians without any hope of revival. Consider Ananias and his wife Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11). Both lied and tempt the Holy Spirit of God; and as you can see, both drop dead because of their hypocrisy without any hope of revival and opportunity for repentance. Of course, the example of Solomon and of Ananias and his wife should be considered very serious examples of backsliding, but grace made the difference between the two. With Solomon, God kept him from final perdition; but in the case of Ananias and Sapphira He did not!

Permit me now to make some observations: 1) Without revival, the backslider CANNOT be “revived,” i.e. the backslider will remain in the spiritual condition he is in. Therefore, the Life of Jesus Christ IS NOT “lived,” or seen in one who claims to be a Christian. In that case, how may one who claims to be a believer of the Lord Jesus Christ have the “proof” of his profession if his life is not consistent with the Life of Christ? Backsliding, of course, quenches the Life of Christ from the professed “believer” and what will be seen is a carnal, worldly and sinful life; totally contrary to being Christ-like! You see, in backsliding, the professed believer is “withering” spiritually; and unless something drastic takes place to revive the Life of Christ in the believer, there is the danger of dying in a very horrific state! After that, who knows but God? 2) Without revival, the backslider CANNOT be “renewed,” i.e. his desires or love for the Lord, and the things that pertain to Him, be started “anew” in his life. Oh, terrible indeed for the backslider to lose all those things that used to be his delight in the Lord! Consider seriously the petition of Jeremiah in Lamentations 5:21 – “Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old”. Renewal will bring “the desire of our soul...to (his) name, and to the remembrance of (him)” (Isaiah 26:8). If this doesn’t take place in the backslider, there will be no “flowers” or “fruit” of the grace of God. In revival, grace “renews” the backsliding child of God in order to manifest “the fruit of Spirit”, which “is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22, 23). Amen.

3) Without revival, the backslider CANNOT be “restored,” i.e. be brought back to a close walk with the Lord; for “he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (1 John 2:6). In backsliding, the professed “Christian” has departed and forsaken the Lord Jesus Christ; or as the Lord Jesus may accuse many of us: “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love” (Revelation 2:4). In other words, beloved, a backsliding Christian is one who has severed their intimate and personal relationship with their Lord and Savior. Of course, sin does this; for it is impossible to walk together in intimacy when sin comes between the believer and the Savior. One in a backslidden condition CANNOT have joy of salvation, peace of forgiveness and assurance of being made accepted in the beloved Son of God. No revival; no restoration! Then 4) Without revival, the backslider CANNOT be “reformed.” We know, according to the Scriptures, that when we are first converted our lives are radically changed in Christ; for we become a “new creature”, or “creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). But when we backslide, we in a sense revert back to our previous sinful life; basically living for self and the pleasures of sin and the flesh (cp. Ephesians 2:1-3). So, unless God of His grace, “re-forms” us by His work of revival, at the very last we might stay in a backslidden life no different than the life of a lost sinner. That truly, would be very dangerous for the soul; for we would not be able to say with the Psalmist: “He restoreth my soul” (23:3).

Therefore, we conclude that If Revival Doesn’t Come, then the backslidden professing Christian CANOT be revived, renewed, restored and reformed from such a terrible and frightful condition. To die in such a condition is to face darkness, (although John applies it to hating a brother), I believe it can also be true for a backslider; for they “walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:11). God will not bless a backslidden Christian with the promises of assurance from His Word simply because they are in rebellion against Him! Yet, I’m afraid If Revival Doesn’t Come, not only many professing Christians will find out they were not truly saved, but true believers in their backslidings will go through much anguish and fears because of the uncertainty of their relationship with God. That is what backsliding does! The exhortations of God’s Word to live in such a way by faith and obedience, manifested by holiness and separation from sin and the world, and subjecting the works of the flesh, can only be done by God’s grace and in the power of the Holy Spirit. But in backsliding, not only we separate ourselves from the power of God, but most certainly, from the power of His Word in our lives as His children in His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ; and we will remain like that If Revival Doesn’t Come; not only personally but also corporately. Amen.

But now let us consider the positive aspect of What If Revival Doesn’t Come? By this I mean What will take place in the lives of backsliders If Revival Doesn’t Come to them, as compared to the negative aspect of it as we saw previously. As we noted previously the backslider will not be Revived, Renewed, Restored, and neither Reformed, which is terrible indeed! But looking at it from the positive side is worse because here we see God actually deciding NOT to send Revival and Spiritual Awakening to His people. In other words, before we saw that without them the backslider will remain in their backslidden condition, but here we will see that God wills not to send them to His people. Some might argue that this could be true, but let us consider why God will positively not send Revival and Spiritual Awakening. Oh, may the thought of this happening to anyone of us drive us to our knees and face before Him who is “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10) and who “delighteth in mercy” (Micah 7:18) to not even think of it for His beloved Son’s sake! Amen.

Now, let me repeat myself again with respect to Revival and Spiritual Awakening; and this so that there will not be any confusion about it. I have said that I haven’t seen anything in the New Testament that there will be a “great revival” in the future before the Lord Jesus Christ returns. As you probably know, there has been recorded great “revivals and spiritual awakenings” taking place in Christianity in years past, especially in Europe and here in the United States. Of course, in the Old Testament we read about them occurring in Israel. Yet, in the New Testament there’s no indication of one, but rather an Apostasy (2 Thessalonians 2:3; cp.1 Timothy 4:1). Nevertheless, beloved, although we don’t find the word Revival in the N.T (and so therefore, we are not to pray for one), we are not to expect one! But does that mean we are not to pray for one if we are concerned for the spiritual state of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ? Definitely not; for I believe that Ephesians 6:18 is a Scriptures that gives us the responsibility to pray for the spiritual welfare of God’s people: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”

Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible comments on this particular verse: ‘For all Christians. We should do this... (With respect to revival)... (4) because the condition of the church is always such that it greatly needs the grace of God. Many Christians have backslidden; many are cold or lukewarm; many are in error; many are conformed to the world; and we should pray that they may become more holy and may devote themselves more to God’. Yes, although it’s true that we do not find the word Revival, I believe we are to pray for Revival and Spiritual Awakening; and pray with such a fervency that God will be willing to send us one according to the many Scriptures that have to do with walking with the Lord, which we can only do “if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25) before it’s too late for many of us; “and that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” Amen.

Having said that, let us consider a Scripture that emphasizes our responsibility to turn to God and be reconciled to Him: “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:6, 7). Although it might be argued that this has to do with salvation and not revival, yet the principle involved is the same. In backsliding we found find ourselves separated from God by living in our ways and in our thinking so that what is commanded here is also true in backsliding. Read Hosea and you’ll see that God’s people “are bent on backsliding from (him)” (11:7). But note in verses 8, 9 how in His mercy He desires to turn His people back from backsliding by not destroying them for it: “How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how  shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim”. So He promises: “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him” (14:4) if we turn back to Him (v.1). Amen.

Nevertheless, beloved, we find that this is not always true! There will be times that God will not revive those of His professing people that have turn away from Him in sin and rebellion. Yes, the question What If Revival Doesn’t Come can be answered by saying that God will positively not send revival! To show this let us make some observations: First, in Proverbs 1:22-32 we see a truth that many might think that since God “delighteth in mercy” (Micah 7:18) and is “good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee” (Psalm 86:5), He will not do it! Read verse 28: “Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me”. In other words, beloved, there may be a time when it will too late for revival. Read the whole passage and see that if we persist in refusing to hear His call and not regard His invitation to come back to Him (v.24), and have none of His counsel and despise His reproof (v.9), He will leave us in our sins (v.31). But worse, we are warned that He who” is love” (1 John 4:8, 16) and is “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10) will do the following: “I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you” (vv.26, 27). Oh, my friend, this should us to tremble to know that God will laugh at us if we think we can wait to the very last minute, or whenever we feel that we are ready to turn back to Him! This in itself should cause us to fall on our faces before our God with broken hearts in repentance for having offended Him with our sins! Amen.

Secondly, we read in Jeremiah that there might come a time when God will command His servants not to pray for His backsliding people! After the LORD had reminded them, “I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not” (v.13), He tells Jeremiah: “Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee” (7:16). Also we read: “Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble” (11:14) as the result of their disobedience and idolatry. Furthermore, He says: “Pray not for this people for their good” (14:11). The reference here is due to their backsliding: “Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins” (v.10). Yes, there can come a time that He will not even hear the most holy and righteous of His servants if they pray for His backsliding people, even their sons and daughters as noted in Ezekiel chapter 14; for their prayers were only effectual for themselves. The point is, beloved, that one’s backsliding can become so severe that the prayers for them will not be received by God; yea, He even commands not to pray for them! For such there is no hope of Revival and Spiritual Awakening!

Then, thirdly, there are times that If Revival Doesn’t Come is because God has determined to judge backsliders very severely. I imagine that many will reject this observation simply because they assume that He will always desire the Revival and Spiritual Awakening of His people. In fact, He commands His people as in Ezekiel 33:11 – “Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” Yet we also read in Revelation 2 these very solemn words with respect to those that had “left their first love” (2:4) that after telling them to “remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works”, He warns them that He “will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent” (v.5). What does to “remove thy candlestick out of his place” mean? Simply it means, I believe, that He is taking them out of the way, to no longer “shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). They cannot continue in such a state and He not deal with it! He might take them off their ministries, or make them incapacitated that they can no longer be used by Him; and worse of all, He might even cause them to die! In 1 Corinthians we read what happen because of the sins of the church: “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep” (11:30). Although this is primarily with the way they were treating each other in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, yet the principle involved here is that severe backsliding amongst the people of God can bring severe judgment upon them, including death! You might disagree with me about this; but consider this: If our backsliding is so severe you can believe that God will take us out of the way, so to speak. “But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain... Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not” (Isaiah 65.11, 12). “I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off... them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him” (Zephaniah 1:4, 6). Don’t you think that our God has the right to do so?

It goes without saying, then, If Revival Doesn’t Come, both from the negative and positive aspects of it, it will be that many that claim the Name of Christ, but were actually dead spiritually (Revelation 3:1 -  “that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead”), will die in their sins and enter a Christ-less eternity. But also there will be many that belong to the Lord that in a sense, will have little, or no, impact as a Christian. Perhaps Samson would be one; and for sure, Lot could be considered one. Perhaps this is meant by 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 – “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” Therefore, I believe that we as the people of God, looking at the serious consequences if Revival Doesn’t Come, considering the three observations I made, and if we truly value the souls of those that claim the Name of Jesus Christ, should be on our faces and pray as the prophet Habakkuk: “O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy” (v.2). Even if we don’t find any indication of a mighty Revival and Spiritual Awakening in the New Testament as in yesteryears; nevertheless, we do find in the Scriptures, that we are to pray for God’s people and that would include for their revival, renewal, restoration and reformation; and especially if we see our brethren in a backslidden life. Let us not deceive ourselves that there never can be times of backslidings in our lives, even as true believers of the Lord Jesus Christ!

But oh! How glorious it would be, if God of the richest of His grace would command the clouds to once again rain the showers of His grace and of His Spirit upon His people; perhaps not in a general way, but in an individual manner; as He causes it to rain on one city and not in another city (Amos 4:7). Yes, if God has been pleased to use this message to reveal to YOU the need of Revival for yourself; don’t wait another moment of delay. As we look at the spiritual condition of the visible Church, and knowing that our only hope is in the Living God, who is “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10), let us pray in the words of the old hymn, “Lord send a revival, Lord, send a revival, Lord, send a revival, And let it begin in me” (Lord, Send A Revival). But also, let us also pray as David did: “Quicken (revive) thou me according to thy word” (Psalm 119:25, 107, 154) for ourselves personally; and for God’s people: “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee” (Psalm 85:6)? Oh, beloved, may it be so TODAY for the glory of our God, and to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ, and to magnify His Grace in the mighty Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.