by Leon Hartwell
CLEVELAND, Ga (TMNews) – When Rev. Michael Catt, Senior Pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., challenged Truett-McConnell students to seek revival during a weekly chapel service, many responded by flooding to the alter and bowing their heads in prayer for revival of God’s Church, Thursday, March 19.
“I want to talk about when God shows up,” Catt said. “What happens when God shows up? Can He, will He, do we want Him to show up?” he asked while making it clear that the Christian Church should intensely seek revival.
After quoting from Psalm 44:1, Catt explained what revival means and what it looks like. “You may have heard the word ‘revival,’ you may have grown up in a church where they said they’re having revival services and at the end of the day – or four days – you said, ‘Well, that wasn’t much.’ But I would submit to you that when God really moves in revival, you know it. And not only do you know it, but everybody around you knows it. And not only does everybody around you in the church know it, the community knows it because God has shown up and done a work. Here’s a truth that you need to understand,” Catt continued, “revival spreads on the wings of testimony.”
True revival
Explaining the distinct difference between evangelism and revival, Catt shared how evangelism deals with those who have not placed their faith in Christianity while revival deals primarily with the Christian Church and those who claim the faith.
“Here’s the problem with the American Church today,” Catt said. “We have religion without Christ, we have Christianity without Christ, we have forgiveness without repentance, we have Heaven without Hell. And we’ve also confused what revival is all about. It is not a series of meetings. It is not the same as evangelism.”
Defining revival as “New Testament Christianity at its best,” Catt spoke about the original Christian church displayed in Acts and how this kind of church community is the kind which brings forth revival.
Having defined and requested a renewed vigor and passion for revival from the congregation, Catt provided insight into how revival spreads. “If we want revival, we need a recognition of desperate need. Whatever we need to do, it is more than we are doing now.
Walking in revival
Speaking from a biblical standpoint regarding God’s timing in concern to the revival of His church, Catt shared how God “doesn’t want you to just hear about revival, He doesn’t want you to just know facts about revival; He wants you to walk in it. We’ve forgotten that God wants to do it now; He wants to do it today,” he said.
Catt shared how revival begins on an individual basis: “We do not have great stories of revival for your generation. What we have is encroaching darkness, fear, anxiety, and uncertainty about the future…But all of that could turn on a dime if God were to show up and move.”
Urging students to earnestly pray for revival, Catt issued a reminder that revival has to start somewhere: “If revival is going to start, it’s going to start with me,” he said.
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Leon is an junior English major and a freelance writer for TMC.
Photo/Adam Roark
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