BYM ONLINE DESK Blessing Jan 2020 English Emagazine | Page 10

January 2020 | www.bymonline.org | Page 10
A Needed
Hyman Appleman (1902-1983)
“Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people
may rejoice in thee?” (Psalm 85:6)
Some people think the need for a revival is a sign of
decadence in a church. This is not always so. In the New
Testament, in the Old Testament, in Christian history,
revivals have been a part of God's plan for the
advancement of the kingdom. This is natural. This is
spiritual. This is psychological. It is impossible for a
farmer to be always harvesting. The same is true of the
Lord's work. We cannot have a perennial revival. It is
impossible to have a perpetual harvest, physical or
spiritual. We are so constituted that it is impossible for us
to be always on the heights. We would go mad with the
strain. We could not endure it. The flesh is still with us.
the promises of God are yea and amen in Christ. A real
revival shakes, breaks, melts, molds, and causes the
power of God to flow over the hearts of people. We want a
revival. God is ready to give it. He wants us to have it. He
will give us that kind of victory the minute we make room
for it. How can we make room for God? That is our
present and pressing problem. Let us therefore consider
the purpose of a revival, the personnel of a revival and the
price of a revival.
Purpose of a Revival
What many people call revivals are not revivals at
all. You have heard of revivals with supposedly great
singing, with supposedly great preachingand with few if
any noticeable results. Such meetings are not revivals.
They may be extended seasons of singing and preaching,
but that is all. A revival is a revival. You do not have to be
told you were born. You know it. You were there, not
consciously, but you were there. The same is true of a
revival. You will know it. You will witness it when it
comes. Mere preaching is not enough. The first purpose of a revival is to expose sin in the
hearts and lives of God's people and in the hearts and lives
of the unsaved multitudes. You know without my telling
you that when workmen build a giant skyscraper, the
higher they go the deeper they must go. As the walls go
higher, the basements and sub-basements go deeper. The
same is true of a revival. To build a structure for the glory
of God and the salvation of the lost, you must dig, blast
and carry away all those things which might hinder
progress. I can say by experiencethank God, I can witness
to you of personal knowledgethat nothing can convict of
sin, condemn for sin, bring people faster and more
definitely to a realization of their sins than a revival of
religion.
We want something that will make people know
there is a God in heaven, that the Bible is His Word, that There has never been so much gambling, drinking,
adultery, corruption in high places and in low as there is