Revival: Revival by Lloyd Jones

Today I'm adding 'Revival' by Lloyd-Jones (Available from Amazon) to the Master Reading List under the category of 'Revival'.

This is a book of sermons from a pastor keenly interested in the subject of Christian revivals. 

Lloyd-Jones explores:
(i) the need for revival;
(ii) the hindrances to revival (e.g. unbelief, doctrinal impurity, defective and dead orthodoxy, spiritual inertia);
(iii) the characteristics of revival (also distinguishing what is not true revival);
(iv) praying for revival.


One of my only quibbles with the book is that some of the sermons are based on texts that aren't clearly about revivals.  For example seven of the twenty-four chapters are on the narrative of Isaac digging wells in Genesis 26.  Lloyd-Jones is able to apply broad principles from this text, but other texts may have been preferable.  Please don't misunderstand me on this point.  The book is truly Scriptural, particularly in comparison to other books on the subject.  But Lloyd-Jones exegesis does seem strained at times.

Nevertheless, I loved the passion that Lloyd-Jones clearly has for revivals and his desire to see the church of Christ embrace revivals.

For example, he writes: 'Even evangelical writers do not mention revival.  They do not even think of it.  And surely this is to quench the Holy Spirit of God because the Holy Spirit not only has what we may call his ordinary work, he has his extraordinary work, and that is revival.  Of course, we must evangelise, of course we must preach about being filled with the Spirit, yes, but over and above that we must cry unto God to pour out his Spirit upon the whole Church.  And that is revival, the descent, the outpouring of the Spirit over and above his usual, ordinary work; this amazing, unusual, extraordinary thing, which God in his sovereignty and infinite grace has done to the Church from time to time during the long centuries of her history.

Examine again your doctrine of the Holy Spirit, and in the name of God, be careful lest, in your neat and trimmed doctrine you are excluding and putting out this most remarkable thing which God does periodically through the Holy Spirit, in sending him upon us, in visiting, in baptising us, in reviving the whole Church in a miraculous and astonishing manner.'

Every Christian should hunger for true revival.  And this book will encourage such an appetite and invigorate all readers to seek revival from our powerful God.