I want to talk to you about something that is very important to me: the subject of revival and spiritual awakening.
The concept occurs throughout the Bible. While the exact noun "revival" is rare, the root word "revive" appears around sixteen times. As Psalm 85.4-6 says:
"Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause Thine anger toward us to cease. Wilt Thou be angry with us forever? Wilt Thou draw out Thine anger to all generations? Wilt Thou not revive us again, that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?"
The history of the Church has always been cyclical: seasons of revival, followed by backsliding and drift, followed again by revival. I grew up expecting, seeking, and longing to see revival return to Britain. Yet when God called me into ministry, He directed me not to Britain, but behind the Iron Curtain to the communist bloc.
Revival does not happen by accident; it must be driven, and it always comes at a price. Looking at church history – from George Müller and William Carey to D.L. Moody, Hudson Taylor, and Smith Wigglesworth – these were men carrying an intense vision who paid a heavy personal price. They ventured into unreached nations without financial safety nets, yet God honoured their steps of faith, and hundreds of thousands turned to Christ.
Genuine revival requires men and women who are willing to pay the price. When Hudson Taylor founded the China Inland Mission, he went without guaranteed resources or safety; he buried his wife and children on the mission field, yet his sacrifice unlocked an enduring spiritual harvest. Today, we need people who not only carry a vision for God's power, but who possess the resolve to take initiative and act.
We must lay hold of the authority God has given us. The cry of the psalmist – "Wilt Thou not revive us again?" – must become our cry today. In Joel 2 and 3, God promises a great outpouring of His Spirit in the last days. I am seeing the beginnings of that harvest in Central Asia, but my heart yearns to see it sweep across Britain.
Even at my age, the vision remains burning within me. The work is not finished, and God's power is not exhausted. If we will seek Him wholeheartedly, pray through to victory, and pay the price of total dedication, we will see an outpouring greater than anything in our history.