Pursuing Renewal

In the early stages of my Christian walk, I was introduced to the concept that there are two types of Christians: spiritual and carnal. Spiritual Christians would be those who have quiet times (or devotional times), they pray and study their Bibles, they witness to others and serve in some capacity. Carnal Christians who have asked Jesus into their hearts, but live to serve themselves.

The more I study Scripture, the less I find evidence for such concept. It is clear that there are immature Christians. Some believers develop at a slower pace than others, but they do develop. They may be more childish than childlike, but they still evidence being children of God.

Sometimes its difficult to escape thinking along the spiritual versus carnal divide. It is especially difficult when it feels like your given over to carnality. The flesh wages war against Spirit, and some days it feels easier to give into it. It is easier to give into the flesh. It is easier, but the cost is greater.

Carnality is willful rebellion against the Lord. The old expression was backsliding. A person who had previously grown in the faith, but then slipped back into sin was called a backslider. Many today debate the possibility and nature of backsliding, but I think the Bible presents it as a reality.

When we allow our hearts and minds to grow numb to the things of God, we put ourselves in a dangerous place. We allow the flesh to seduce us into believing the path of least resistance is the best way to travel. Yet in a believer's life, it is impossible to give into the flesh's seduction without resisting the Spirit's work. It takes sustained effort to quiet the Spirit's voice, and that is what makes it so dangerous. Every time we ignore the work of the Spirit in our lives, our hearts grow harder.

The good news applies to backsliders, too. If they will humble themselves and repent, they, too, can enjoy forgiveness and restoration. It is clear that God delights in showing his mercy to his children.

So where are you? Do you feel unspiritual? Has your faith plateaued? Or even begun to decline a little? You can keep moving in the direction you are headed in, but you won't like where it takes you. If you truly belong to the Lord, he will discipline you, eventually. Don't try his patience; don't test the Lord. Repent now, and he will begin restoring the joy of your salvation. Renewal, is right behind you, if you will only turn to receive it.

Does Revival Come Softly?

Does revival always come with a "bang?"  Is there always a overt outpouring of the Spirit, or does he ever use subtler means?  When you hear about revivals and awakenings in the past, the stories include police men with no crime to stop, bars closed down for lack of patronage, families reunited, communities transformed, increased evangelism and missions work, animals unable to recognize their owns because of the drastic changes in personality, and multitudes of people turning away from sin to the living God, through Jesus Christ, and becoming fruit bearing followers who transformed their world.

These are the types of stories we hear most often in relation to revival.  But is that how all revivals happen? Are there any accounts were revival comes softly?  Are there examples where churches and communities have found themselves in the middle of a transformation that had occurred through the accumulation of a thousand tiny changes?

Come to think of it, how does one know when revival has come (or is coming)?  I think we can say the marks of revival are:

• Dissatisfaction with the status quo.  This is an awareness that all is not the way it should be.  Believers begin to realize that they have slipped into complacency, and desire to get out of the rut.
• The return to the spiritual disciplines.  This would include prayer, Bible study, meditation, evangelism, worship, etc.
• The desire for and pursuit of personal and corporate holiness.  Believers become increasingly aware of their sinfulness, and yearn to be more holy.
• The fruit of the Spirit is clearly visible among God's people.  During seasons of revival the fruit of the Spirit is in full bloom.  His presence makes people more loving, more merciful, more generous, more desirous of peace, etc.
• Genuine conversions that result in fruitful disciples.  During genuine revival, even the lost become increasingly aware of their sinfulness, and flee to Christ to be rescued.  Their lives are marked by change, sometimes drastic, sometimes more subtle, but the change is evident (and permanent).

The marks listed here give us a good starting point for answering the question, "How do we know revival is coming (or already upon us)?".  As I am thinking about these marks, it seems that they can happen in both subtle and dramatic ways.

Imagine a person sitting in church for years, and during a course of time coming to realize that there is something missing in his life.  Although he can't quite put his finger on it, everything just seems off to him.  As time passes, this uneasy feeling grows.  One Sunday, during the singing or the sermon, the Lord reveals to him what's missing: he has drifted away from the Lord, his affection has grown cold.  This situation is more subtle in nature, because the person gradually drifts toward the point of confrontation.

Now imagine a person sitting in church one day, unaware that anything is wrong.  Yet, during the singing or the sermon, the Lord reveals to her that she missing something.  Her heart has grown cold, and she no longer delights in the Lord.  This situation is more dramatic, because this person is confronted more abruptly.

Both individuals come to a similar point in their lives, but they take different roads to get there.  It just may be that sometimes revival comes softly.  Maybe it sneaks up on some people before they have the chance to harden their hearts, stiffen their necks, and muster a resistance.  Maybe it's just the patience of God expressed toward the object of his love--the church.

What do you think? Does revival ever come softly?  What are some of the marks of revival you look for?  How do you know when you have been revived?  I would really love to hear your thoughts.

Why Does Revival Tarry?

"Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear" (Isa. 59:1-2).

I'm still asking the question, "Why does revival tarry?".  Why aren't more hearts broken and contrite?  Could it be that our "iniquities have made a separation" between us and the LORD?

Sin is an ugly and resilient monster.  Unfortunately, sin isn't a monster that attacks us from the outside, but one that devours us from the inside.  It doesn't die easily.  It keeps popping up here and there. We tend to harbor it as if it were a stray kitten.  But in reality, it is a ravenous lion seeking to devour everyone in its path.

Sin separates us from God.  It functions as a dividing wall of hostility.  God, the Holy One, is angry at our unrighteousness.  His holy justice rages against our iniquity.  We cannot approach God while still in our rebellion.  Sin has cut us off, and muffled our voices so that our prayers are not heard. 

Revival may tarry because we harbor sin in our hearts.  Our prayers go unheard when there is sin in our hearts.  Our sin "hides" us from God's face.  For this reason, we need to confess our sins to restore our relationship.   We have to abandon sin, if we want to see revival.

Are you ready to experience revival?  Are you ready to make a break with sin?

Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV).

Four Keys of Revival

I'm thinking about message preached tonight during revival.  Bro. Paul Parks preached out of 2 Chronicles 7:12-25.  It is a fairly common Scripture for revival services.  I couldn't even tell you how many times I have heard it preached during revivals.  But something struck me at the outset of the message--maybe we hear it so often because we never do what it says.

It brought to mind the story of a young preacher in his first church:

During his trial sermon he preached a fiery message of "Repent! Repent! The kingdom of heaven is at hand."  The message was so powerful that he was voted in unanimously.  The next Sunday he preached the same message, "Repent! Repent! The kingdom of heaven is at hand."  The crowd had largely forgotten what he had preached on the previous Sunday, so they thought he did a wonderful job.  He preached the same sermon the next Sunday.  And the next.  By this time the people had caught on, and were concerned that he only had one sermon.  They charged the deacons with the task of sorting out the matter.

When the deacons approached the young preacher, he was cordial.  They said, "Preacher, we can't help but notice you keep preaching the same sermon."  "Yes," he said. "I do."  One deacon asked, "Do you have different sermons?"  "Oh, yes," said the young preacher. "I have many sermons."  Another deacon responded, "Wouldn't you like to preach a different sermon?"  "Yes," he answered, "I would love to preach a different sermon."  The Chairman spoke up, "Well then, why in the world don't you?"  "That's simple," said the preacher, "when you obey this message, I'll move on to the next."

I'm sure this story never happened, but it does make an important point.  There is a danger in assuming that we understand something simply because we have heard it before.  Hearing is just not enough.  We are to be doers of the Word, not hearers only.  During Jesus' earthly ministry  many heard his teaching and were astounded by his authority.  However, they never combined their hearing with obedience.

Bro. Paul did an excellent job of opening up the passage to explain the four keys of revival.  In order to experience revival of the magnitude of the First Great Awakening, God's people must humble themselves, pray, seek God's face, and turn from their wicked ways.

• The first key is to humble one's self.  Humbling one's self is the process of expunging all the pride in our lives.  It means we have to tackle our fear of man.  If you have ever asked, "What will people think?" (or some variation), then you fear man.  Humbling one's self, means we put down all pretenses (masks), and acknowledge who we really are.  A person is sufficiently humbled when they acknowledge their spiritual bankruptcy before God and man.  In the Bible, this humbling is often signaled by the tearing of clothes, the putting on of sackcloth, and the covering one's self in ashes.  It was a public display of brokenness.

• The second key is to pray.  Prayer was (and is) an essential part of Jesus' ministry.  In fact, Jesus' disciples were so impressed by his prayer life they asked him to teach them how to pray.  If prayer was (and is) essential to Jesus' life, shouldn't it also be essential to our lives?  We need to move beyond quick prayers over meals, rote prayers that repeat the same things over and over, formal prayers that use big words that we don't normally use, and weak unbelieving prayers.  We should to relearn and practice the postures of prayer: standing, kneeling, lying face down on the floor, etc.  We need to be so burdened that we learn to weep freely when we pray.  We need to pray with our hearts, minds, souls, and strength.  God has appointed prayer as a means to transforming hearts and lives in our world.  We must not neglect it any longer.

• The third key is to seek God's face.  It is a terrifying thing to come face to face with God.  If a person, in their sin, were to see God face to face they would die.  The holiness of God would strike them dead (see Ex. 33:20).  So why does the Lord instruct his people to seek his face?  The ultimate blessing is to have God's face shine upon you (see Num. 6:23-26).  Although Moses never actually saw God's face, God is said to have talked face to face with Moses, as a man talks to his friend (Ex. 33:11). This passage means that Moses communed in the presence of God.  In Moses' time, God's presence was displayed in a pillar of cloud/fire.  In our times, God's presence is mediated through the indwelling Spirit.  We are always in the Lord's presence.  We can speak to him as a child to his father, a servant to his master, and even as a friend to his friend.

• The fourth, and final, key is we must turn from our wicked ways.  Sin is a part of the human condition, and has been since Adam's rebellion.  However, believers in Christ are dead to sin.  Sin no longer has mastery over us.  James does an excellent job of explain the mechanics of sin (see James 1:13-15).  Paul goes farther, and explains the reason why we still continue with sin (see Romans 7:15-25).  But in Christ, through the power of the indwelling Spirit, we must make a break from sin.  To make the break, we must stop the sin, repent of it, confess it to the Lord and other offended parties, make restitution (where necessary), and continually seek the Lord's assistance.  He doesn't expect us to do it on our own, because he knows we are incapable.

So when will we see revival?  I guess when we start seeing God's people, who are called by his name, humbling themselves, praying, seeking his face, and turning from their wicked ways.  Until then, it's hard to say how much lasting change we'll experience.  May God grant us obedient hearts!

Some Revival Principles

As I continue to think through revivals, I am beginning to see some underlying principles at work. Some of them that come to mind are:

1. Revival cannot be planned, but it can be earnestly sought after. I am not saying we shouldn't set aside time each year for special revival meetings, but without intense and earnest prayer revival will not come. God has given a prescription for revival (see 2 Chr. 7:14), and he will not send it until we obey.

2. Prayer should be incorporated into our planning. Not only should we pray for guidance concerning who should speak, who will lead the music, who will give testimonies, and the like, but we should also form prayer teams. If we will get a choir together for revival, we had better have a prayer "choir" as well. We should be praying for revival long before the meetings begin. We should have teams that meet and pray every week throughout the year, who pray for every sermon preached and every class taught leading up to revival. These small groups should have prayer meetings during the service, after the service, and during the services. This principle coincides with earnestly seeking the Lord.

3. It is almost always good stewardship to set aside time to hear God's Word faithfully proclaimed. In fact, the only time it wouldn't be is when those hearing the Word proclaimed are not trusting and obeying what they hear. Where people are earnestly seeking the Lord and praying with intensity, the preaching of the Word comes with power. Those who put the most into a service get the most out of it. In other words, if you are earnestly seeking the Lord, praying diligently for revival, and attending meetings where the Word is rightly proclaimed, you will not leave disappointed.

4. Revivals imply the need for repentance. When we say we need revival, we are admitting to ourselves and confessing to others that things are not right. True revival generates an atmosphere of humility and repentance. When revival comes sins are turned away from and confessed, Accountability and formative church discipline increase, and transparency becomes the norm. During a time of reviving from the Lord, people desire unity through faithful obedience to Christ and his Word.

5. True revival generates passion and compassion. When the Lord sends revival to his people it awakens in them a passion for his glory. They yearn to see him lifted up and praised by all of creation. They become bolder to speak of the Lord's work in their life. They are more grateful for the blessings they have received. They long to be near him and to be like him. As they draw closer to him, he begins to widen their hearts. They begin seeing the lost family members, friends, and neighbors as straying sheep in desperate need of a shepherd. They see the lost sinking down into death and earnestly desire to see them rescued.

This list isn't exhaustive. There may be other important principles that I have missed. Feel free to list other principles in your comments. When you think of revival what do you think of? How do you know if you have experienced revival?

Be Thou My Vision

With our fall revival approaching, I have been thinking about what revival would look like. Should God be pleased to revive us during these extended services (and I pray he is), what will that "revival" look like? I cannot say with specificity, but I believe a genuine revival brings renewed emphasis on the gospel, a renewed atmosphere of humility and service, a renewed spirit of dependence upon the Lord, and a renewed desire to see Christ exalted through our lives. I heard the hymn, "Be Thou My Vision," today, and I began praying its rich truths for my life. The words are:

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art:
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, they presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me Lord:
Thou my great Father, I thy true son,
Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Riches I heed not, or man's empty praise;
Thou mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heav'n's Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

Father, be our vision, be our wisdom, and our true word. Grant us the ability to walk in obedience to your Word, and to accomplish the call you have placed on our church's life. To you be the glory.

I pray that in the days ahead the God, through Christ, will become my all consuming vision, that I will seek his glory first and foremost, and that I will walk in humble submission to his Word. Revival services begin at Monticello Baptist Church (Butler County, KY) Sunday, September 6th, 2009 during the 11:00 am service. Services will be held nightly at 7:00 pm through Wednesday, September 9th. A humble servant of the Lord and good friend of mine, Keith McWhorter, will bring the messages. I am anticipating fruit from these meetings in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Please, pray with us that these services would serve as an awakening and a renewal, and that God would be glorified in us.

Yearning for Revival

"As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God" (Ps. 42:1, ESV).

What a picture. The Psalmist expresses the intense longing of his soul by comparing it to the deer's panting. The image captures how close the author is to fainting. He needs it. He is searching for it. He can't go much farther. But it isn't water that he seeks with desperation--it's the Lord. He wonders, "When shall I come and appear before God?" (Ps. 42:2).

Whatever the cause, this man is disheartened. He has lost his joy and zeal for the Lord. Once a fervent worshiper, he can no longer join with the enthusiastic worshipers. He feels isolated and alone. He wonders if God has forgotten him. He is surrounded by naysayers who ridicule his God, and he is beginning to wonder if they are right. Has God really abandoned him?

Almost as quickly as the questions arise, he replies to himself, "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?" (Ps. 42:5, ESV). Speaking to his inner man, the Psalmist demands to know what right his soul has to despair. Why this sad state of affairs? Can you not remember the faithfulness of the Lord? He then turns and gives the command: "Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God" (Ps. 42:5-6).

His mind is set, even if his heart is a bit shaky. He will continue seek the Lord, trusting in his faithful loving kindness, until the Lord arrives. This psalm so richly demonstrates the kind of heart that experience revival. Revival usually doesn't come to the complacent and apathetic. Often, it is the complacent and apathetic that zealously rage against revival as it is beginning to take shape.

The work of revival often begins with a holy discontent. Moral decay in society (and sometimes within the church) cause people to start asking questions. Troublesome circumstances add to the turmoil. Through these difficulties the Lord begins to work a desire for his word. The Spirit awakens people to the weakness and shallowness of their faith. As they study the Word, they become discontent with the way things are in their lives. They begin to yearn for cleanse and renewal. The Lord moves them to search for him through prayer and Bible study. He pushes them to endure until the blessing comes, and when it comes it flows over from their lives into the lives of others. Thus, revival is often a long process, whereby God brings his people to hate their sin and to cling more closely to him. It is often comes after long anticipation and with much pain.

A former pastor of mine once told me the story of a preacher who drew a circle on the floor around himself. After he was finished drawing the circle he prayed, "Lord, send revival within this circle." I understood him to be saying, rightly, that we must desire to be changed, in order to see change around us. However, revival doesn't happen in a vacuum. We cannot experience revival apart from the people of God, at least not in the fullest sense. If one is revived, it is for the stirring of others. He wants all of his people passionately serving him in faithful obedience.

Yearning for Revival

I seem to be having a difficult time focusing my mind. My thinking process has become like wading through mud. I just keep getting stuck. It seems my heart and mind are moving in opposite directions. I think most people experience times like these. Many of those people allow those moments to pass by without comment. Some struggle to break free from the lethargy and experience new growth and renewed passion. My hope is that I, too, will experience a revived spirit which will help me focus my thoughts and energy. Realizing the need for revival is part of the solution. It creates within us a strong dissatisfaction for the way things are and creates a earnest yearning for renewal. Once we begin to earnestly desire revival, we begin to earnestly seek it. When we earnestly seek the Lord, we find him (actually, we find that he is right there waiting for us to return). I want revival in my life. I want to draw closer to the Lord, I want to move farther from sin, and I want to lead others to Christ. Without God's intervention I won't see any of this happen. Lord, revive us.