So, first, revival is the result of a fresh knowledge of God, and the revived need an expression of worship for the true and living God.

George Frederic Handel wrote the Messiah in twenty- four days without leaving his house. His servant brought him food, but he would often find it untouched. Once the servant found Handel weeping as he wrote the "Hallelujah Chorus." Handel cried, "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself!" The dynamic of that masterpiece revealed the nature of God's character to the composer.

Second, the only motive of true worship is the glory of God. One of the great blessings of my life has been to sit in the worship service of an Eastern European church that has experienced revival. The congregation sings with magnificent power. I can see smiling, joyful faces, men and women weeping as they sing about the love of God. They are in no way passive. They desire only to glorify God as they praise Him.

A group of young people traveled with me in Romania, translating Scripture choruses and singing them to congregations where I preached. They sang and then gave testimonies. God moved mightily in the services where they ministered. Their pastor told me to be careful with the young people. "They could be interrogated, beaten, or go to prison for traveling with you.""

It was quite a culture shock to return to the United States and preach in large youth conferences. What a contrast to hear musicians brag about driving Mercedes Benzes. They sold shirts, beach towels, and anything else young people would buy with their pictures and names on them.

No wonder we don't have revival in America. We are so busy promoting ourselves that we don't have time to proclaim Jesus Christ. When revival comes, there is but one purpose in our music: the promotion of the glory of God.

A third characteristic of revival is a keen awareness that God Himself is the chief audience of our worship. In a church that has experienced awakening, many times the congregation sings without hymnbooks. This is because of a lack of literature in many communist-bloc countries, but as a result they sing only songs with which they are familiar. They don't seem so caught up with the intricacy of their music as with the simplicity of its message. They lift their heads and bellow their songs toward heaven. It becomes clear to Whom they are singing.

Music is a vehicle that transports what is on the heart of man to the throne of God. The awakened church has worship and adoration on her heart.

A fourth characteristic of worship in the revived church is that it is participation-oriented rather than performance- oriented. The first time I visited Romania, I arrived about an hour prior to a worship service. I was surprised to find that people had already begun to gather. Scattered around the auditorium were people quietly praying or reading the Scriptures. They had come to worship.

The worship service included choir singing, poetry reading, praying, congregational singing, and preaching. There were few spectators, just participators.

This has been the way of the revived church for centuries. Thus, Paul and Silas could worship in prison as well as in the sanctuary. Luther's music emphasized congregational singing. True worship is always a people's movement.