Revival and History

Series: We Need Revival! An Interview with Dr. Henry Blackaby

Leslie Basham: As a pastor, Henry Blackaby saw his congregation plant 38 new churches—not because of their ability but because of God’s.

Henry Blackaby: I had people ask, "How large do you have to be before you can start a new church?" I’d say, "You’re asking the wrong question. How large do you have to be to be obedient?"

It’s a matter of obedience, not whether you can do it or not. God will do it.

Leslie Basham: It’s Monday, July 17th, and you’re listening to Revive Our Hearts. Here’s Nancy.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss : Our guest this week doesn’t need much introduction to most of our listeners. You’ve undoubtedly heard the name, Dr. Henry Blackaby. I know that many of our listeners have been deeply impacted through his life and his ministry.

Dr. Blackaby has been a pastor, a missionary, a Christian college president. He’s a well-known author and is perhaps best known for his book, Experiencing God.

Four million copies have been sold. It’s been translated into over 40 languages. I know that many lives have been impacted through his ministry and his message. We’re delighted this week, Dr. Blackaby, to welcome you to Revive Our Hearts.

Thank you for coming to share with our listeners what God has put in your heart about what He has done in the past in revival and what He wants to do in our day. So welcome to Revive Our Hearts.

Dr. Blackaby: Thanks, Nancy. It’s a delight to be here.

Nancy: Dr. Blackaby, when I started into the revival ministry 25 years ago, almost no one was talking about the subject, and now almost everyone in the evangelical world is talking about revival, but you hear the word used in a lot of different ways. Sometimes I think there’s some confusion; in fact, you are part of a denomination that in the past has often talked about revivals as a week of meetings—a fall revival, a spring revival.

As you have walked with the Lord over these years, you’ve come to a biblical understanding of what we mean when we’re talking about revival. Help us. How do you define it? How do you describe what revival really is?

Dr. Blackaby: Revival to me has always been a mighty presence of God in the life of his people. I’ve always felt that. I watch people, as you have, come into a heart cry for revival, but what they mean is very different. I think they are seeing sin come in like a flood and evil come in like a flood. They’re crying out for God to raise up a banner against it.

Nancy: To clean up the nation

Dr. Blackaby: To clean up the mess, to make us successful.

Nancy: Yes.

Dr. Blackaby: Both of which are not involved in revival. It’s what God does to His people. So in my heritage I became aware. Of course, as you grow older, you learn things.

I learned that my dad who was born and raised in London, England. . . . At least five of my relatives on his side of the family graduated from Spurgeon’s College during the time of a great movement of God. Many say it was almost a constant revival with him. They did church planting across England, and I became aware of my heritage.

Then my uncle and aunt were the first missionaries from their group of churches in British Columbia to go to China. They had the experience of the Shantung Revival and were with Jonathan Goforth in Mantura seeing the huge touch of God through their lives.

They would send pictures back, and they would show pictures of 150-250 at baptismal services because there were so many responding to the gospel. That was part of my heritage.

Then I had a heart cry for revival all my life. Things should not be the way I saw them. When I looked into scripture and fellowship with God, his heart was laid over mine. “That’s not what I desire. What you see is not what I purposed.” So I’ve cried out for that all my life.

Then God led me to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Part of the confirmation that I should go there to this little church of 10 (that had voted to disband) was the testimony of revival off the coast of Scotland with Duncan Campbell. He had been in Saskatoon the year before.

Before he left he said, “I’m not given to visions, but God has given me a vision of revival fires breaking out all across Canada from one coast to the other. When it will be, I do not know. But that it will be, God has given me full assurance.”

Nancy: Now that would have been when, in the early fifties?

Dr. Blackaby: Forty-nine, fifty in there.

Nancy: Right.

Dr. Blackaby: I went in 1970 to Saskatoon. Of course, already because of Duncan Campbell’s visit in Ebenezer Baptist Church with Bill McCloud, he had begun to pray. So I prayed with him and a few others every week for two years.

Then all of a sudden Bill called me and said, “Henry, for that which we’ve been crying to God has happened!”

Nancy: So this was another pastor in another church nearby. He’s a friend. And he has been on this program, but some of our listeners are not familiar with him.

Dr. Blackaby: A fine, fine godly man.

Nancy: Yes, he his. A man of the Word, a man of prayer.

Dr. Blackaby: He could quote the whole Bible.

Nancy: Yes.

Dr. Blackaby: He and I became very good friends, and the movement of God went from his church to St. Timothy’s Anglican and then to the University Drive Alliance and to Third Avenue United and for seven and a half weeks we experienced the presence of God.

Nancy: Tell us, I’ve read about this, but some of our listeners may not be familiar with this. This was in 1971, if I recall correctly. What was it like?

Dr. Blackaby: Well, it was like what I always felt God wanted. The churches came together. We met in the largest facility. If you went three hours before the meeting began, you couldn’t get in. There was such a touch of God in the meetings, and people would give testimonies.

They had an after-meeting that would go to 5 and 6:00 in the morning. There were so many lives being profoundly touched that they had to have two or three places to meet. Then we began to read in the local paper: “Sears is seeing many things being returned that were stolen.” The income tax people were saying they’re confessions coming from all over the place how people cheated on their income tax.

The paper for weeks would have articles about what was happening in the city. I saw the impact in our own little church and this little group of ten that wanted to disband. Instead of disbanding, the Spirit of God hovered over our church, and we started 38 new congregations all over two provinces.

We began to cry out for laborers the way God told us, and over a hundred from our little church. . . . Well, we first baptized 180 college students, and about 100 felt called into the ministry and missions.

So we started a whole theological college in our church just to train them. I really prayed earnestly for God to come among His people to cleanse us, to make us available and obedient. So that little church that had never started as a mission church, when the Spirit of God comes upon a people, they’re obedient.

I had people ask, "How large do you have to be before you can start a new church? I’d say, "You’re asking the wrong question. How large do you have to be to be obedient?" It’s a matter of obedience, not whether you can do it or not. God will do it.

So we kept hearing about towns and villages crying out for a church. They would come to us, and I would take it to the church family. They’d say, “Pastor, it’s obvious God’s at work. We don’t have an option; we just need to go.”

There’s a whole story coming out of that, but I think a major part of revival is when God comes to His people and they repent and are cleansed. They become a highway of holiness over which God can do anything He wants and go anywhere He wants and do whatever He wants with his people. And they’ll always respond with, “Yes, Lord.”

Then you see the impact of the presence of God affecting towns and villages and other language groups. Also, the campus was radically changed at the university.

Since then, you and I were present in Colorado when the Lord just came upon the whole group of Campus Crusade leaders who were there. There were at least 21 hours of unbroken repentance and crying out to God.

Since then, I’ve been on university campuses and other places where suddenly, the Spirit of God came upon God’s people, and there was an immediate repentance and utter brokenness. Then they would testify, and then others would respond; and it would go all night and all the next day spreading all across the campus and then to other campuses. The Lord has let me be a part of that. Nancy, I’m overwhelmed that He let’s me be a part of that.

I see the tremendous need again for God’s people to understand biblically. I was thinking of this passage in 2 Chronicles 15:2 where God announced to Asa, “The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.” Asa sought the Lord, rebuilt the altar, took out everything that was offensive, and God came among his people. But later his heart departed, and he forgot to trust in God; and God disciplined him severely.

Revival is basically knowing that God wants to be God in the midst of His people. We’re a covenant people, and the covenant was made on purpose so that through His people all the nations of the earth could be blessed. But when His people depart, so does the powerful presence of God and expression of God.

When they return, that’s revival. When the life of God returns to the people of God and when the people of God are right with God, it has an incredible affect on the lost people around them.

Nancy: Well, I know your heart has been stirred as mine has as we’ve had a chance to listen to Dr. Henry Blackaby—especially with this thought that God’s intent is that His people, that’s us, that we should reflect His glory to all the nations. What an incredible privilege and responsibility that is.

And why are we not having that kind of affect in our world?

I hope you plan to join us all this week, and perhaps even encourage others to tune in as well, as we continue this conversation with Dr. Blackaby about the need for genuine revival in the church.

Leslie Basham: You can also hear about revival in the church on some of Revive Our Hearts archived broadcast. You can read in-depth discussions about some of the moves of God Dr. Henry Blackaby listed, including the revival with Duncan Campbell in Scotland and the display of repentance Nancy witnessed in Colorado.

To hear these moving stories, visit www.ReviveOurHearts.com. While you’re there, especially for this series, we’re encouraging you to get Nancy’s workbook, Seeking Him.

It’s a workbook Nancy wrote with Tim Grissom that will help you experience personal revival. As Dr. Blackaby said, “Revival happens when the life of God returns to the people of God,” and Seeking Him is a study that will make sure the life of God is active in every area of your life: in relationships, finances, family, and work. It will help you maintain a clear conscience, give and receive forgiveness, and walk in purity.

You can get Seeking Him by visiting our website, or call 1-800-569-5959.

Nancy, I’m glad we’re not done hearing from Dr. Blackaby. Find out more tomorrow on Revive Our Hearts.

Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss is an outreach of Life Action Ministries.

All Scripture is taken from the English Standard Version.

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