They Are All Dead

I sat for some time this morning feasting on messages from a panel of revival preachers from a 1989 Revival Conference. These men talked with passion and spoke of a devotion that is foreign to my life. How these men gave their lives to prayer, preaching, and the pursuit of God for revival. They spoke as prophets. Their words burned.

Leonard Ravenhill, who at the time was 85 years old, talked about just celebrating his 500th prayer meeting on Friday night. I did the math and that is over nine and a half years! He told of people driving up to 300 miles to come to those prayer meetings. When he spoke there was an urgency. His words carried weight. He spoke with fearless courage and a broken heart.

Bill Mcleod spoke with the authority of a man who walked with God. He experienced revival first hand for seven weeks in the city of Saskatoon. He gave himself to prayer and the pursuit of God for revival. To sit listening to him was like drinking from an oasis in the desert.

Manly Beasley also spoke with authority. He suffered much but God also used him much. Beasley was a man of faith and prayer. He touched many lives and had great humility.

While I watched today it struck me at one point that all those heroes of the faith are now dead. They are now gathered in the great cloud of witnesses. These men were pastors and prophets. Who is left to take up the mantle of revival for this generation.

God always has His successors. Joshua followed Moses. Elisha followed Elijah. Charles Finney followed D.L. Moody. Billy Graham succeeded Billy Sunday. In recent years many of the great preachers have moved on to eternity.

I am left wondering the following questions. Who will write weighty books like "Why Revival Tarries" and "Sodom Had No Bible" like Ravenhill did? Who will lead their churches to really pray for revival like Mcleod did? Who will suffer and yet remain faithful to prayer and faith walking like Beasley did?

It is sobering that men whom God used so mightily are all gone. I praise God for recorded sermons and the printed page that let their voices still live. They still speak to me. Still, they are gone. They will never stand behind another pulpit, lead another prayer meeting, write another book, or stand for righteousness in the midst of this wicked generation.

Who is out there to take their place. I see the contributions of Louie Giglio in pursuit of revival among college students and young professionals. I see the influence of John Piper toward the passionate pursuit of God. I know God is using men like Paul Washer and David Platt to expound prophetic truth.

It saddens me that so many giants of the faith are gone. I wish I could have attended just one of Ravenhill's Friday night prayer meetings, sat in one of Mcleod's services while revival broke out, and heard Beasley preach in person. Those things will never happen.

Here is my great comfort today. True indeed, all of those men have now departed to glory. THEIR GOD HAS NOT! God is still here dwelling among men, listening to prayer, available to empower men to preach, and to inspire authors to write. God is still here. He is raising a new generation of revivalists. We may not know their names but God is putting his hand on people to accomplish his good purposes. Those people may sit next to you in church. They may be in school to get training. They may be shut up to God in places of obscurity learning how to pray. You may be one of those persons.

God always has his servants prepared to take the baton from the previous generation. I am thankful that the work of God continues. God is weighing his burdens on a new generation of preachers, authors, and revivalist.

I was sitting in a interview some time ago with a pastor search committee. A lady asked me a question about who my heroes were. I thought for a moment and gave her a response she did not expect. I told her, "Most of my heroes are dead." I thank God for introducing me to the ministries of Leonard Ravenhill, Bill Mcleod and Manly Beasley. God has used each of them in my life. Though they are dead their voices still live.