Sam Jones and Revival

There is a book in the Bible that chronicles the major periods of revival under the reigns of the kings of Judah. The second book of Chronicles lists those revivals that took place under the reigns of Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Hezekiah, and Josiah. I highly recommend, friends, taking the time to read about those revivals and study them.

Study why God honored those men with revival. We need to study how God has moved in former times in revival, both in the content of our Bibles and in the history of the church. Men like Whitefield and Edwards need to be studied, what they preached, and why God used them.

We need to study a D.O. Moody or a Sam Jones and see how they reached their generation for Christ in the gospel. We can prepare ourselves for revival in our day by studying the lives of those whom God has used to move in former times. Moody, we know, Sam Jones, has fallen to the wayside in the memory of history, but in his lifetime he was the means of bringing 500,000 souls to Christ in powerful revivals that shook America for God in his day.

The name of Sam Jones was a household word, and his framed picture hung in drawing rooms in major cities. Candy bars and babies were named after him. You can still find streets and towns in America named after him.

Teddy Roosevelt thought so highly of Sam Jones, he gave the evangelist a standing invitation to the White House, and in 1885 Sam Jones turned the city of Nashville upside down in revival, and out of that revival was built the Ryman Auditorium for him to preach in, which today houses the Grand Ole Opry. Sam Jones was a phenomenon who would fill the largest halls of every city he preached in, and tens of thousands would be turned away for want of room. Sam Jones was a drunken lawyer who gave himself to God, and God used Sam Jones to shake a nation in revival.

Revival followed Sam Jones like white on rice. When Sam Jones came to town, his preaching literally transformed the entire spiritual life of a city as seen from the following report of Sam Jones in Reform, Alabama. Reform is a city in Pickens County, Alabama, and it is located halfway between Columbus, Mississippi and Tuscaloosa on Route 82.

The city records state it was named Reform after a visit by an evangelist. Reform, Alabama was named after the evangelist Sam Jones conducted revival meetings there. Sam Jones came into town and preached for eight weeks, and when he left town there was nobody in the jail.

The theaters were closed. Nobody played cards, and the liquor stores were run out of business. There wasn't anything questionable left, and when men would curse in the streets, they would lower their voices so nobody could hear them.

There is a Bible verse that pictures Almighty God looking for a man, a human instrument that he can use, and I believe, friends, God wants to bless us with revival today if only he can find a man entirely sold out to him. The verse is found in 2 Chronicles 16 9 which states, For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show themselves strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Listen, friends, one man fully revived and wholly consecrated crying out in God's name for repentance can bring a nation to its knees in revival.

I believe that. We need revival in our day. Our churches need revival.

Our nation desperately needs to turn back to the God of the Bible, and we need to study men revival like a Sam Jones. You can get my new biography on him at amazon.com. It's entitled Sam Jones, A New Biography.