Experiencing Revival
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 3/23/14
Recently, Ashley and I watched the movie “Princess Bride” for the first time with our kids. It’s a classic fairy-tale movie filled with romance and swashbuckling adventure. In one pivotal scene, Miracle Max lifts the lifeless arm of the hero, Wesley, and lets it drop to the table, massages his chest, and searches for signs of life. The situation looks awfully grim to Wesley’s companions, but then Miracle Max exclaims, “I’ve seen worse…it just so happens, your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There is a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there is usually only one thing you can do…go through his clothes and look for loose change.”
Sadly, there are countless churches all over the country that are in the same condition as Wesley… or worse. Last year more than 3,500 churches died, closing their doors for the last time. The same number will likely die this year, too. Myriad more churches have lost their healthy glow, displaying little or no signs of life.
Now, I don’t think that the church here is dead or even mostly, but we’re not as alive as we should be. Before you go scrambling for loose change, I want to remind you that we’re planning to host a revival here at The Grove next weekend. We’ve recruited guest speakers, talented worship leaders, and invited other believers from all over the area. Our hope is that this event will do for us, what Miracle Max promised to do for Wesley—bring revival, renewal and rejuvenation.
But, I also want to warn you that the only way we will experience true, meaningful revival is if we follow God’s prescription for it. Our God is the real miracle-worker and he wants to breathe new life into his church and his people; not just here, but everywhere. And he’s done it before.
Two and a half millennia ago, the nation of Israel was in desperate need of revival. The city of Jerusalem was conquered by the mighty Babylonian Empire. The temple laid in ruins. The majority of the population was either slaughtered or relocated to the far reaches of Babylon. For decades, God’s people lived in a foreign land, surrounded by pagan influences. But after seventy long years, God stirred the heart of King Cyrus of Persia to issue a decree, releasing the Jewish remnant from captivity, allowing them to return home and rebuild. Led by great men like Ezra and Nehemiah, the Israelites rebuilt the walls surrounding the city and completed construction on a brand-new temple. But even with these physical structures restored, they hadn’t yet experiences real revival. They were simply setting the stage for God’s Spirit to move.
Once the physical restoration was complete, the spiritual restoration could begin. Ezra, one of the leading priests, called an assembly of all the people. They gathered in the square just inside the Water Gate with a unified purpose. What happened in the city of Jerusalem that day ignited their hearts and restored their spirits as true revival swept through the land. They were mostly dead for more than a generation, but thankfully, there’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. The same kind of revival that they experienced is available to us today. True revival will always explode from the formula they established. Three ingredients were essential in restoring their spirits and reviving their hearts. First, was the Word of God.
• THE WORD OF GOD
Any place you see true revival happening, you can bet that the preaching of God’s Word preceded it. The Bible says, “Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform that had been made for the occasion… in full view of all the people. When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet” (Nehemiah 8:4-5 NLT).
Can you sense the awe and anticipate they must have felt? They built a special stage and pulpit, just for this occasion. It had been decades since God’s people had met to together to hear the Word of God read. Most of the people gathered that day had never heard a single verse of Scripture spoken aloud. They we hungering and thirsting for God’s Word. As Ezra opened the Word of God everyone stood with eagerness in their eyes. Do you know how long they stood?
The Bible says, “He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law” (Nehemiah 8:3 NLT). Are you ready to give this a try? Can you imagine standing for five or six hours, just listening to God’s Word being read? We can’t make it through a thirty minute television show without flipping the channel half the time.
I read of a minister who was visiting one of his members. The lady of the house, wanting to impress the pastor, said to her little girl, “Honey, go get the book that Mommy loves so much,” pointing to the large family Bible on the shelf. The little girl ran over to the shelf and returned carrying the new Sears catalog!
Somewhere along the way, we’ve lost the awe and wonder that these Israelites had concerning God’s Word. And that’s a sure sign that we’re in need of revival. But I know of a group of college students who gave Ezra a run for his money.
For 65 hours one October, students at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, read the Bible aloud at a crossing in the heart of the university campus. Standing under a tent and reading into a microphone in 30-minute shifts, they read from Genesis to Revelation. Erica Wothen, a senior, led more than 200 students in the event. Erica said, “We came together to read the Word. We didn’t worry about what we would say or do. We just read and watched God move.”
That’s what God does when we read his word and listen to his word. He moves. He moves in us and through us. He stirs our hearts. That’s why it’s so important for us to listen to God’s Word. And we are so blessed to live when and where we do. Even if you don’t enjoy reading, you can listen to God’s Word on CD in your car, or on your iPod while you work out, or you can play it on your computer while you work. I often use an app called YouVersion; you can go to www.bible.com or download the app on your phone. You can look up any passage and have the app read the Scriptures to you from any number of translations. When you do that you prepare your heart for revival.
But, these Israelites didn’t just listen to God’s Word, they interacted with it. The Bible says, that they broke into thirteen smaller groups with leaders over each group, and “They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage” (Nehemiah 8:7 NLT). Let me just say, if you’re not a part of a small group Bible study or a Sunday School class where you work through the Scriptures together—discussing them, learning from them, and applying them to your own life—then you are missing an essential ingredient in revival. If we really want revival in our church and in our own lives, then we’ve got to get into God’s Word and get God’s Word into us!
• THE WORSHIP OF GOD
The second ingredient in revival is the worship of God. When Ezra finished reading from the Scriptures, the Bible says, “Then Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people chanted, ‘Amen! Amen!’ as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground” (Nehemiah 8:6 NLT).
When was the last time you lifted your hands to God or worshiped with your face to ground? I think the posture of their praise reveals something about the nature of true worship. Raising your hands isn’t just a religious thing—it’s a human thing. We do it all the time, and we usually do it in celebration. When your sports team does something spectacular, your arms shoot up into the air. I know we don’t have a lot of hand-raisers here (I almost played that Tim Hawkins video with the dueling light bulbs), but regardless of how you express it, worship ought to be a celebration—rejoicing in God’s greatness and glory. In the words of Karl Barth, "Christian worship is the most momentous, the most urgent, the most glorious action that can take place in human life."
But worship also involves a deep sense of reverence. The Israelites not only raised their hands, but they bowed their faces. The other night I read the story of Isaiah to my kids. Isaiah had a vision of heaven where he saw God on the throne, so I asked my kids what they would do if they saw God. Abby, my four-year-old, said, “I would run up and give God a big hug! That’s a good answer, isn’t daddy?” It is a good answer, but that’s not what Isaiah did. Isaiah fell to his knees, hid his face and cried out, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man… Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!”(Isaiah 6:5 NLT). Genuine worship always involves a deep reverence for God’s holiness, might, and majesty.
In their surveys on the subject of worship, the Barna Research Group has found that the term "worship" means many things to many people. There is no single definition of the word that is common to more than one out of five adults in this country. Of the most likely definitions held by people:
• 19% related worship to expressions of praise or thanks to God
• 17% defined worship as praying to God
• 17% think it means attending church services
• 12% relate it to having a personal relationship with God
• 10% believe it to mean a particular attitude toward God
• 9% think of it as a way of living that reflects one's spiritual commitment
I think worship is all of these things, but it always involves a balanced sense of rejoicing and reverence in God’s presence. And, you’ll also notice, they worshiped together. Everything they did to spark revival was done together. Now, I’ve said more times than I can count that worship is far more than what goes on in a steepled building for one hour on Sunday mornings, but I also love what President Theodore Roosevelt once said: “Yes, I know all the excuses. I know that one can worship the Creator and dedicate oneself to good living in a grove of trees, or by a running brook, or in one's own house, just as well as in church. But I also know as a matter of cold fact the average man does not thus worship… if he strays away from church.”
Here’s right. You can worship at home, in the car, or at the office, but the kind of worship that ignites revival is here at church, together. So to spark true revival we need the word of God, the worship of God, and finally the work of God.
• THE WORK OF GOD
When the people had finished singing, shouting and surrendering to God, Nehemiah, the governor, spoke up, saying, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord” (Nehemiah 8:10 NLT). Anyplace Christians gather, you can expect good food and fellowship to follow, right?
Eating together, telling stories over the dinner table, and building relationships with fellow believers is, in itself, an important part of church-life and spiritual renewal. But what I want to draw your attention to is the small, but significant command buried within this this verse: “share gifts of food with people who have nothing.” Share.
It’s a simple concept. We learn it in preschool. And it’s an essential element in stirring revival. Share. When we share, especially with those in need, it puts God’s love into action and can open both the giver and receiver’s heart to revival.
You just never know how big of an impact a small gesture can have.
Kristen was eating breakfast at Mimi's Cafe in Victorville, California, last week when she realized her table's boisterous conversation might have disturbed an older couple seated nearby. She decided to pick up their tab as a preemptive apology. The waitress, Stephanie Miller, waited until the older couple asked for the check and then told the pair the bill was taken care of. After thanking her, the man walked toward the door, but the woman hung back. She told the waitress that her husband had just lost his brother and they were in town for his funeral. On such a dark day, this simple gesture meant more than Kristen would ever know.
Warren Wiersbe tells the story of a Christian lady who often visited a retirement home near her house. One day she noticed a lonely man sitting, staring at his dinner tray. In a kindly manner she asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Is something wrong!" replied the man in a heavy accent. "Yes, something is wrong! I am a Jew, and I cannot eat this food!"
"What would you like to have?" she asked.
"I would like a bowl of hot soup!"
She went home and prepared the soup and, after getting permission from the office, took it to the man. In the following weeks, she often visited him and brought him the kind of food he enjoyed and eventually she led this old Jewish man to believe in Jesus. Yes, even sharing a bowl of hot soup can be a ministry to the glory of God!
I think this is the kind of thing that Angie (youth minister) and John (outreach deacon) had in mind when they came up with this competition to see which team could stockpile the most canned goods and non-perishable food to be donated to local food panties and missions. I want to encourage everyone to participate in this. Choose a team and share gifts of food with people who have nothing. And it’s not all about food, of course. We all have special gifts, abilities, experiences and interests that God has given us to share with those in need. If you love to cook, you can make meals for shut-ins. If you’ve got a heart for kids, you were probably made for children’s ministry. Who better to help a recovering alcoholic than someone who fought that demon and found freedom? If you’ve been through the tragedy of divorce, God can use you to comfort others who are experiencing that same heartache. The possibilities are limitless.
When we start giving and sharing enthusiastically, it can change the climate of our church and even our community—preparing a pathway for revival.
Conclusion:
The history of the people of Israel is full of ups and downs, but for this generation the Word of God, the worship of God and the work of God set their hearts afire and revived their spirits. They confessed their sins, renewed their covenant with God and rededicated their lives to the Lord. Their homes were rebuilt and their nation restored.
In case, you haven’t seen the movie, Miracle Max does manage to revive Wesley, too. But he didn’t regain his strength instantaneously. At first he could barely move his head. Later he could stand, but he had to lean on something for support. Eventually though, he could lift his sword and save his beloved Princess Buttercup.
Revival is often like that. It’s doesn’t always happen overnight. It’s a gradual process. But it begins with the word, worship and work of God.
Invitation:
If you need a personal revival—if you need God to breathe new life into your dry and weary spirit—get into his Word, his worship and his work. If I can help you in any way, please talk with me as we stand and sing.
