PREACHER: Ralph Juthman
TEXT: Psalm 85:4-6; various
THEME: Revival comes at the sovereign, gracious decision of God to send a fresh movement of His Spirit among his people
TITLE: When Revival Comes
INTRODUCTION
“The single greatest need in our land today is heaven-sent revival!
In his annual ‘State of the Church in America’, study sociologist and Christian pollster George Barna has produced the following results;
A. Increasingly, Americans ( Canadians) are more interested in faith and spirituality than in Christianity.
“Faith remains a hot topic in America these days,” George Barna commented, expanding on the theme. “Politicians, athletes, cultural philosophers, teachers, entertainers, musicians – nearly everyone has something to say about faith, religion, spirituality, morality, and belief these days. But as the fundamental values and assumptions of our nation continue to shift, so do our ideas about faith and spirituality. Many of our basic assumptions are no longer firm or predictable.
“One of those assumptions relates to how we develop our faith. These days,” he continued, “the faith arena is a marketplace from which we get ideas, beliefs, relationships, habits, rituals and traditions that make immediate sense to us, and with which we are comfortable. The notion of associating with a particular faith – whether it is Christianity, Judaism, Islam, or some other strain – still has appeal because that connection provides a discernible identity and facilitates the possibility of belonging to something meaningful. But the actual components of what we choose to belong to are driven by our momentary needs and perceptions.
“Our studies consistently demonstrate – as explained in unChristian, the book by my colleague, David Kinnaman – that being a Christian or associating with the Christian faith is not as attractive to Americans as it used to be. That is largely due to two realities. First, the mass media have unfavorably caricatured the Christian faith, devout Christians and Christian churches. Second, it is relatively rare to find someone who is an exemplar of the Christian faith,” the researcher explained. “Consequently, millions of Americans have less trouble embracing Christ than they have embracing Christianity, but many people assume it is a package deal: that is, you cannot be a Christian without adopting the institutional framework and limitations of the Christian world. Young adults, in particular, find that unappealing.
“Ultimately, in a culture where people are busy, distracted, confused and trying to keep it all together, there is less loyalty to a faith brand than to self. The purpose of faith, for most Americans, is not so much to discover truth or to relate to a loving, praiseworthy deity as it is to become happy, successful, comfortable and secure. For a growing percentage of citizens, their sense of spirituality, more than Christianity, facilitates those outcomes.”
B. Faith in the American context is now individual and customized. Americans are comfortable with an altered spiritual experience as long as they can participate in the shaping of that faith experience.
“Now that we are comfortable with the idea of being spiritual as opposed to devoutly Christian,” Barna pointed out, “Americans typically draw from a broad treasury of moral, spiritual and ethical sources of thought to concoct a uniquely personal brand of faith. Feeling freed from the boundaries established by the Christian faith, and immersed in a postmodern society which revels in participation, personal expression, satisfying relationships, and authentic experiences, we become our own unchallenged spiritual authorities, defining truth and reality as we see fit.
“Consequently, more and more people are engaged in hybrid faiths, mixing elements from different historical eras and divergent theological perspectives,” Barna stated. “In some ways, we are creating the ultimate ecumenical movement, where nothing is deemed right or wrong, and all ideas, beliefs and practices are assigned equal validity. Everyone is invited to join the dialogue, enjoy the ride, and feel connected to a far-reaching community of believers. Screening or critiquing what that community believes is deemed rude and inappropriate. Pragmatism and relativism, rather than any sort of absolutism, has gained momentum.”
C. Biblical literacy is neither a current reality nor a goal in the U.S.
Barna’s findings related to Bible knowledge and application indicate that little progress, if any, is being made toward assisting people to become more biblically literate.
“Bible reading has become the religious equivalent of sound-bite journalism. When people read from the Bible they typically open it, read a brief passage without much regard for the context, and consider the primary thought or feeling that the passage provided. If they are comfortable with it, they accept it; otherwise, they deem it interesting but irrelevant to their life, and move on. There is shockingly little growth evident in people’s understanding of the fundamental themes of the scriptures and amazingly little interest in deepening their knowledge and application of biblical principles.
Barna noted that some of the critical assumptions of many preachers and Bible teachers is inaccurate. “The problem facing the Christian Church is not that people lack a complete set of beliefs; the problem is that they have a full slate of beliefs in mind, which they think are consistent with biblical teachings, and they are neither open to being proven wrong nor to learning new insights.
Our research suggests that this challenge initially emerges in the late adolescent or early teenage years. By the time most Americans reach the age of 13 or 14, they think they pretty much know everything of value the Bible has to teach and they are no longer interested in learning more scriptural content. It requires increasingly concise, creative, reinforced, and personally relevant efforts to penetrate people’s minds with new or more accurate insights into genuinely biblical principles. In a culture driven by the desire to receive value, more Bible teaching is generally not viewed as an exercise in providing such value.”
D.. Effective and periodic measurement of spirituality – conducted personally or through a church – is not common at this time and it is not likely to become common in the near future.
“There are two levels on which evaluation of where we stand spiritually can take place,” noted the California-based author. “There can be external measurement, such as that conducted by pastors, teachers, coaches or peers, and there can be self-evaluation. At the moment, we’re seeing very little of either form of review related to a person’s spiritual condition.
“Our studies this year among pastors showed that almost nine out of ten senior pastors of Protestant churches asserted that spiritual immaturity is one of the most serious problems facing the Church. Yet relatively few of those pastors believe that such immaturity is reflected in their church. Few pastors have gone so far as to give their congregants a specific, written statement of how they define spiritual maturity, how it might be measured, the strategy for facilitating such maturity, or what scriptural passages are most helpful in describing and fostering maturity. Those pastors who made any attempt to measure maturity were more likely to gauge depth on the basis of participation in programs than to evaluate people’s spiritual understanding or any type of transformational fruit in their lives. Overall, less than one out of every ten pastors said they were completely satisfied with how they assess the spiritual condition of their congregation.
“The situation is similar among Christian individuals. Americans have an almost insatiable curiosity about themselves and how they stack up against others. Yet, in the spiritual realm, that same level of curiosity is much less apparent. Perhaps it is because of the lack of tools for such measurement or even the absence of motivation to grow or to deepen their relationship with God.
“Not surprisingly,” he continued, “our research found that a majority of churchgoing adults are uncertain as to what their church would define as a ‘healthy, spiritually mature follower of Christ’ and they were no more likely to have personally developed a clear notion of such a life.
“It may well be that spiritual evaluation is so uncommon because people fear that the results might suggest the need for different growth strategies or for more aggressive engagement in the growth process. No matter what the underlying reason is, the bottom line among both the clergy and laity was indifference toward their acknowledged lack of evaluation. That suggests there is not likely to be much change in this dimension in the immediate future. In other words, as we examine the discipleship landscape, what we see is what we get – and what we will keep getting for some time.”
When God’s people are no longer experiencing the abundant life and joy of God, it’s time to prepare for revival. Revival is not just hundreds of thousands of people getting saved. It is not filling our churches. Revival is more than people being healed and coffers being fll.
What is revival, really? Is it reliving a past moment when the church was full, Sunday school was thriving, when people knew how to act, walk and talk in church?
What is revival to you? Is it experiencing the presence of God at an altar where you speak in tongues, dance in the spirit and feel great?
What is revival to you? Is it a week of meeting where an evangelist pumps up the saints for a few days and leaves town.
What is revival to you?
We all have our definitions. Each definition will flow from your personal experience with God. In fact each generation will have a unique experience that they can point to, and call it revival!
We all want something from God. But what is it that we really want? I am afraid that at the end of the day, what we say we want in revival is nothing more than an experience with God that makes us feel good. But that is not revival.
Revival is not about you. It is not about me, it is about God and His purpose for me and His church. Sadly, our search for revival usually ends at the conclusion of a special meeting or crusade.
We can talk of the glory days of yesterday, but God is more interested in today!
What is important is to understand what God says about revival in His word!
To revive means to make alive again – God wants us to be a living and powerful church! But in order for us to experience this truth we must first of all understand,
REVIVAL COMES AT THE SOVEREIGN, GRACIOUS DECISION OF GOD TO SEND A FRESH MOVEMENT OF HIS SPIRIT AMONG HIS PEOPLE
Revivals cannot be predicted, forced, coerced, or planned. A revival involves both the sovereign hand of God responding to the sincere intercessory pray of God’s needy people. He does so but not at our time table or convenience.
Does this mean that we cannot expect God to answer our prayers for revival? No, in fact God is more desirous to send revival than we are in wanting it,
Malachi 3:7, "Return to Me and I will return to you
When God sends a fresh move of His Spirit,….
1. THERE WILL BE A RENEWAL OF THE WORKS OF GOD.
I have heard all about you, LORD. I am filled with awe by your amazing works. In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by. And in your anger, remember your mercy. ( Habakkuk 3:2 NLT)
Habbakuk had grown up hearing the stories of God’s mighty acts. He had heard about how God divided the Red Sea. He had heard about the exploits of Moses, Joshua. He had heard about the glory days of King David and Solomon.
As he meditated upon God’s mighty works, Habbakuk is overwhelmed with the awe inspiring sense of the greatness of God. He calls on God to once again intervene and empower God’s people.
When God intervenes in a church or nation it is not to resurrect the methods and days of the past. It is to again resort the majesty and power of God in the present day.
God is not interested in the methods of the past. He desires to empower us with renewed strength and spiritual power to accomplish His will in our community.
God will renew His works and secondly,
2. THERE WILL BE A REFRESHING FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, ( Acts 3:19 NIV)
Notice the progression in these verses.
- First, repent
- Second, be converted (it is an AND. . .two activities)
- In order that. . .So that. . .Third - sins can be forgiven
- Why? In order that. . .So that. . .times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.
Each event flows from the previous. Repentance, Conversion, Forgiveness, and times of Refreshing in the presence of the Lord.
The word refresh is the greek word ‘anapsuxis, and means, a recovery of breath. If you have ever run in a marathon, or worked hard all day under the hot summer sun, then you know the feeling of your mouth being aparched and body weary from lack of water and oxygen.
How refreshing it is to just have that cool drink of water, or fresh breeze blow over your body. You feel revitalized and refreshed ready to move on.
That is what God does when He moves by His spirit in your life. He refreshes and revitalizes you in order that you can continue to serve Him.
So, when God moves by His Spirit into a life or church He will renew His works, refresh our hearts, and but in addition to all this …
3. THERE WILL BE A RESTORING OF LIFE.
Charles Finney said that revival is God bringing back from the dead a people who were once alive”
Ezekiel is a man of God confronted with a congregation of God’s people who are discouraged, displaced and spiritually dead. The circumstances were ripe for revival. God took Ezekiel to a mountain top and gave him a visual aid of revival.
1 The LORD took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the LORD to a valley filled with bones. 2 He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. 3 Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?”
“O Sovereign LORD,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.”
4 Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! 6 I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
Revival is the process of bringing to life that which once was alive, but is now at the point of death. “Can these bones live again?” Ezekiel obeyed God, preached to those dry bones and then God breathed his spirit back into their bodies, God revived for himself a mighty army.
Today churches are full of people, but many are empty of God. Too many of God’s people have a self–sufficient spirit, an apathetic heart, and a dead disobedient lifestyle. Can these bones live again? Why is it that we have people coming to church more, but experiencing it less? They have not confessed their sins. They are spiritual corpses, dry bones.
How do you know if your bones are getting dry?
1. When there is no desire for Bible study and prayer.
2. When spiritual conversation embarrasses you or is avoided.
3. When you rationalize sin.
4. When you can quote scripture and attend service, but it doesn’t make a difference in your life.
5. When you life revolves around money.
6. When it no longer bothers you that others are in misery and spiritually lost.
7. When worship and service to God does not excite you.
8. When you don’t have blessed assurance.
Like Ezekiel, the situation looks hopeless. “CAN THESE DRY BONES LIVE?”
The world is looking for God. Tragically and ironically, as the world is looking for God, God’s people are asleep in their pews, asleep in religious traditions and lethargy. CHURCH, IT IS TIME FOR REVIVAL!
BUT DO WE WANT REVIVAL?
REVIVAL WILL NOT COME UNLESS IT IS DESIRED
It sounds like a contradiction in terms. Why wouldn’t people want a revival. When God moves by His Spirit, His works are renewed, our ifes our refreshed, and our churches are made alive again, who wouldn’t want that?
Sadly, I have met people who have made the insane decision to forgo revial. You have met these people too.
Pride- “ Our church is well known and respected in the town, we would not want to jeopardize our reputation”
FEAR- “ I am afraid of what others will say, if I allow God to fill me with the Spirit
CONTROL- ‘ When the Holy Spirit moves, he will….”; We need to keep things decent and in order”
But do you know what I think the real reason is people may not desire revival? It is simply because
THEY DON’T WANT TO PAY THE PRICE FOR REVIVAL
“The single greatest need in our land today is heaven-sent revival! Revival comes at the sovereign, gracious decision of God to send a fresh movement of His Spirit among his people… (but)
REVIVAL WILL NOT COME UNLESS IT IS DESIRED
IT IS AN INVASION FROM HEAVEN AT THE REQUEST OF THE SAINTS ON EARTH.”
Everyone’s favorite verse when talking about revival is 2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
God is looking for people to revive; If my people..
The ‘if’ here is the beginning of the conditions that God is looking to be met before He will act. It is clear that God is issuing a conditional promise to His people - do these things and I will respond. God has an expectation of specific things before He brings revival.
We must look to God to be revived: will humble themselves
Why does God desire for His people to humble themselves? The word humble means to be in submission, to live in a state of surrender. When we humble ourselves, we are literally saying to God, you are in control of my life. The Wwelsh preacher Evan Roberts humbly prayed, Bend me O Lord. The result was a revival that spanned Wales and transformed it from the inside out. But it would only happen when Roberts humbly submitted his agenda for God’s.
When we humble ourselves before God we are allowing Him to bend us to His will.
The Key to revival is PRAYER: and pray
One of the key principles of revival is a concerted effort in prayer. When we pray we are bringing our lives to intersect with God and in the moment that we meet with God something amazing happens; He pours Himself into our lives. This is why prayer is so absolutely essential to experiencing revival.
Prayer is the foundation of a growing relationship with God and without prayer that relationship will never truly grow.
CONCLUSION: In summary then, “The single greatest need in our land today is heaven-sent revival! Revival comes at the sovereign, gracious decision of God to send a fresh movement of His Spirit among his people… (but) Revival will not come unless it is desired. It is an invasion from heaven at the request of the saints on earth.” (Raymond Perkins )
I want to tell you a true story that I read only this week. We hear of revivals of past history, stories that I will relate in the following weeks.
However, this one is the most recent testimony of what I have been preaching today. In fact, it is not in the U.S.A., Africa or South America. This story is literally in our own backyard in Orillia Ontario.
Read Article from Christian Week newspaper
There are two undeniable facts, one we need a revival like never before. Two, God is more desirous to grant us revival than we could ever imagine. So, then
WILL YOU ANSWER THE CALL TO SEEK HIM FOR REVIVAL FOR OUR CHURCH< NATION< AND FAMILIES?
RESOURCES:
The Bible Exposition Commentary, Warren Weirsbe
The Expositors Bible Commentary
Christianweek.org
Sermoncentral.com
Full Life Bible Commentary
