Joy Of Salvation

“Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and uphold me with Thy free spirit.” Psalm 51:12

Introduction – Passion Misplaced

The kingdom of God is not going to advance

simply because our churches are full of people.

No — the kingdom of God is going to advance

when the people who are in our churches are full of God.

That’s a world of difference. We can fill pews with warm bodies, but that doesn’t mean lives are transformed. The question isn’t “How many are in attendance?” The question is “How much of God is in us?”

And here’s the strange thing about our culture today: it’s perfectly acceptable to be passionate about almost anything — except God.

Think about it. I can be passionate about movies — nobody blinks. I can be passionate about sports — people cheer that on. I can be passionate about politics — folks may disagree, but at least they admire the passion. I can even be passionate about food, about restaurants, about clothes, about hobbies.

But passionate about God? Now you’ve crossed the line. Now you’re a fanatic.

Have you noticed?

I can shout myself hoarse at a baseball game — nobody thinks that’s strange.

I can dance in the aisles at a concert — people say, “Wow, he’s a real fan.”

But if I lift my hands in worship? If I shout hallelujah in church? People whisper, “Oh, he’s gone too far. He’s a nut.”

We live in a world that says: “Be passionate about anything — except your faith. Except your God.”

But friends, do you remember when you first became a believer? Do you remember the joy? The fire? The passion?

It was all brand-new:

“All my sins are forgiven. I have a purpose for living. I have a future in heaven!”

It was a big deal! You were excited. You told people. You sang. You prayed. You gave thanks.

But then what happened? What always seems to happen? Time went by. Responsibilities piled on. Life grew heavier. And slowly, quietly, without meaning to, you lost some of that fire.

Losing the Fire

You started with fire. But as time passed, you began to lose steam. The joy leaked out.

Like the old man in that little church in Tennessee. Every spring, during revival meetings, he’d move a little closer to the front row each night, until at the end he’d be in the front saying, “Fill me, Lord! Fill me, Lord!” And a little old lady who knew him well would mutter under her breath, “Careful, Lord, he leaks.”

Billy Sunday, the fiery evangelist before Billy Graham, said: “If you have no joy, there’s a leak in your Christianity somewhere.”

And isn’t that true? We leak. We lose passion. We forget what it felt like to be forgiven. We lose the freshness of grace.

And church itself can start to feel like a drain instead of a delight. People say, “I’m too tired to go to church.”

But should it not be the other way around? “I’m tired — I need to go to church! I need to get filled, revived, energized, renewed!”

What Revival Is Not

And here’s the thing: we often misunderstand revival.

We say, “Revival is coming! Mark the date! Put it on the calendar between VBS and the retreat.”

But revival is not a program. It’s not a crusade. It’s not a meeting. It’s not just emotional hype.

And revival is not a guilt trip.

Jonathan Edwards preached his famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. He described people dangling like spiders over the pit of hell, God’s wrath burning hot, ready to drop them into the fire.

Charles Finney thundered about breaking the sinner’s heart, humiliating people until they confessed. He believed revival came when guilt was laid on thick.

But listen: guilt alone does not revive. Shame may sting, but it doesn’t save.

Ask any doctor. Diagnosis alone doesn’t cure. You can’t help someone just by saying, “Here’s what’s wrong.” There must be a remedy.

What Revival Is

Revival is not about guilt. Revival comes when we get a fresh vision of God.

Revival comes when we get a fresh vision of God.

J. B. Phillips once wrote a book called Your God Is Too Small.

And that’s the problem with many of us — our view of God is too small.

Some see God as a policeman — always watching, always ready to catch you.

Some see God as a professor — all about doctrine, all about information.

Some see God as a grandfather — kindly, but powerless.

Some see God as a judge — cold, stern, distant.

But your spiritual life cannot rise higher than your view of God.

If your God is small, your joy will be small. If your God is weak, your worship will be weak.