Tim Keller's Second Talk

Tim Keller - Revival - Spiritual Renewal


Keller's Experience With Revivals
Tim is a product of the Jesus movement. 60's on college campuses. Asbury revival. inter varsity in college, it began to grow. The same thing was happening on other campuses. It was a revival, a spiritual renewal.
The same thing happened when he started his Presbyterian Church in NY. Maybe for 18 months, a couple hundred came to the faith. 


19th Century Revivals
Charles Spurgeon saw more people come to faith in his 3 years in London than during the rest of his ministry. George Whitfield, John Wesley etc. Other Anglicans started revivals. Why?Then industrial revolution, America too big for parish system and no national church, and people started reading the scripture. The question became...have you been born again? Have you really been converted? Yes you've been circumcised in the flesh, but have you been in the heart? Youre observing all the ordinances, but have you been born again? Phil 3


What is a Revival?
We must do more than play church. We must promote revival in our congregations. Revival is an intensification of the ordinary operations of the holy spirit. The holy spirit anoints and convicts and assures. When those things are intensified, for one year or one night...whatever, 1857-1860 80k people joined churches in NY city. 1/3 of northern Ireland came into the church. When it happens, sleepy Christians wake up, nominal Believers in God come to you and say...I had no idea this was possible. I must be converted to Christianity. Skeptics come to the church because the legalism is replaced by grace.

Means for promoting Revivals:
1) extraordinary prayer (there should be ordinary prayer anyway)
2) the recovery of the gospel (unite with Christ, faith alone)
3) people become a case study for revival (the penny drops, and the formerly average person becomes remarkably filled with grace)
4) places, venues, experience meetings - (william williams brought people together to process what was happening to them.)
5) creativity - Wesley and whitfield started outdoor preaching. (tears down the miners faces) (getting the gospel out in a new way).

If revival really comes, it's the end of the delta affect. Theology, worship and liturgy, social justice aren't specialties for each church, but vital churches combine all those things.

Alexander the great. One of his generals sent word saying his daughters was getting married. A sent a treasurer out there. The general asked for an exhorbative sum. A the great says, give it to him. He must believe I'm both rich and generous! Don't be afraid to ask for a lot. He is both rich and generous.


Pray for a Revival.