Revival Sermon: The Phenomena of Revival

Acts 2:12-13 — Great awakenings by God are often accompanied by great physical and mental phenomena. During revivals, men and women are described as being “struck” – falling to the ground and fainting. Supernatural knowledge about the future is given to ordinary people. What are we to make of these revival testimonies about prophesy and physical phenomena? Should we dismiss such things as hysteria or brain washing? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones pushes back against the Western tendency to describe these kinds of things in naturalistic terms. While acknowledging there can be mixture of false phenomena with the true, he cautions Christians not to merely dismiss these physical phenomena based upon a dry intellectualism. Such reasoning could result in Christians quenching the Holy Spirit. Instead D. Lloyd-Jones reminds us that these kinds of phenomena are always accompanied by a response from bystanders. It is either a response of doubt, amazement, or mockery. This was the experience of the early Christians in Acts 2:12-13. It has held true throughout the history of revivals as well. The Christian response, says Dr. Lloyd-Jones, must test such things. Nevertheless the whole person can be impacted by a great movement from the sovereign Spirit. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones seeks a balanced approach in this controversial topic.