What Does Lloyd-Jones Teach About Facing Spiritual Crises in the Church?

What urgent need did Isaac face when he moved to a new location, and how does Lloyd-Jones relate this to the church today?

Isaac faced the urgent need for water - something absolutely essential for life itself. Lloyd-Jones relates this to the church's current situation by arguing that the church today faces a similarly urgent and desperate need: "the need of life itself, the need of that fundamental power and vigor in every activity of the church which rarely can make an impact upon the world." He emphasizes that the church's problem isn't minor adjustments or organizational methods, but something fundamental and radical - the need for spiritual power and the Holy Spirit Himself.

What approach did Isaac take to solve his water crisis, and why does Lloyd-Jones believe this is significant for the modern church?

Isaac "digged again the wells of water which they had digged in the days of Abraham, his father" rather than calling in prospectors or water diviners. Lloyd-Jones sees this as significant because it shows that Isaac understood the urgency of his situation required certainty, not experimentation. He returned to proven sources rather than trying untested methods. Lloyd-Jones believes the modern church should similarly return to proven spiritual sources from the past rather than seeking entirely new approaches or messages for "this atomic age."

According to Lloyd-Jones, what has been the pattern of the church's history throughout the centuries?

Lloyd-Jones explains that church history has not been a straight line of progress but rather "a history of ups and downs." There have been periods when the church was "full of life and vigor and power" with many conversions, passionate prayer, and significant impact on society. These periods of revival have often followed "periods of great drought, great deadness, apathy and lifelessness." He points to examples like the Evangelical Awakening of 200 years before his sermon and the revival of 1859 as evidence of this pattern.

What did Isaac discover when he went back to the old wells, and how does Lloyd-Jones apply this to the church's situation?

Isaac discovered that "the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abram" and "filled them with earth." Though the water was still there, it wasn't visible or accessible. Lloyd-Jones applies this by arguing that spiritual power is still available to the church, but it has been blocked: "There is only one explanation of the state of the christian church today. It is the work of the Philistines. The water is there. Why don't we see it? Why are we not able to drink of it? The Philistines have been here and they filled the wells with the earth and the rubbish and the refuse."

What common explanations for the church's problems does Lloyd-Jones reject, and why?

Lloyd-Jones rejects several common explanations:

1. Modern circumstances (TV, cars, entertainment) - He argues these are just new forms of old distractions; people have always found excuses not to attend church.

2. New scientific knowledge - He contends that scientific advances don't affect the fundamental relationship between God and humanity, and that the church has faced similar intellectual challenges before.

3. Church division - He points out that God has sent revival even during times of severe church division, and that revivals both create unity among those experiencing them and new divisions between those who accept and reject the revival.

Lloyd-Jones calls these explanations "the rubbish of the Philistines" that stand between people and God's blessings.