Why Does Revival Tarry?
Isaiah 35:3-4
Pastor Jim Luthy
In the climactic final scenes of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," Indy becomes desperate to reach the Holy Grail, the cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper, because his father has been shot and needs to drink from the grail to survive. To get to the cup, Indy has to pass three tests: he must avoid the saws and swords that shoot out unexpectedly from the walls; he must step only on designated stones on a path or else fall through into an abyss; and he must cross an impossibly wide ravine. His father had already deciphered the clues he would need to pass the tests. Indy’s job was to interpret the clues to avoid death on the path to the grail.
The first clue required that he become like a penitent man. At just the right time, Indy realizes that a penitent man is one who humbles himself and kneels before God. As he kneels, the first of the deadly saw blades crosses over his head.
The second clue suggests that he follows the word of God. The word, he determines, is "Jehovah". Indy steps on the J and begins to fall through the floor into the abyss. Saving himself and climbing back on to the safe ledge, he remembers from his childhood lessons that "Jehovah" in Latin begins with an I. He then promptly crosses the stone path safely, stepping only on those stones that spell "Jehovah".
The third test requires him to take a step of faith. Looking across a huge ravine, he sees no way to cross but is urged by the clue to step out in faith. As he finally does, due to the desperation to reach the grail and save his father, he finds himself along a path he could not see because of the illusion that it was the rocks on the other side of the ravine. He crosses the path and finds himself in a sacred cave, guarded by a 700 year-old knight who had vowed to guard the grail until a worthy replacement would come to relieve him of his duties.
In many ways, the Christian life is similar to the journey Indiana Jones took to reach the grail. It is clear that we’re to be penitent people who humble themselves before God. Indy bowed only on the outside, but we’re to bow in our hearts with contrition. We are also called to follow the word of God carefully. Joshua 1:8 says we’re to "meditate on this word day and night and be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." If we humble ourselves and avoid the schemes of the devil to stand, and if we will follow the word of God carefully, we are still presented with the challenge, at times, to step out in complete faith, even if we are unable to see how God will move us to the other side.
In Indy’s case, the villain challenges Indy by asking him what he really believes. His belief in his father’s clues and in the power of the grail drive him and guide him to the other side. In our case, it is our belief also that drives us and guides us to see the glory of God. Hebrews 11:6 is clear: "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
The reward for Indiana Jones became very personal when his dad was dying. Pursuing the grail and the healing it offered became his uncompromising and unwavering agenda. Our reward, according to Isaiah 35:2, is "the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God." God the Father sent Jesus his Son to become the only sinless man who could die in our place and provide a way for us to be reconciled to him. He has made a way for us to know God. The question is: How badly do we want it? Is the glory of God our uncompromising and unwavering agenda?
A.W. Tozer wrote, "Revivals come only to those who want them badly enough." If you were to ask my why revival tarries, whether it be your own personal revival or a corporate church-wide or city-wide or nation-wide revival, I would say it is because we don’t want it badly enough.
In Israel, there was evidence that they weren’t ready for renewal. Maybe they didn’t want it bad enough. Maybe they couldn’t see past their circumstances well enough to wait for it. It is plain, though, that there were at least three outward expressions of a weakness within that needed to be remedied for revival to come.
The first was hands that are feeble. The people were too weak to serve, too short in reaching out, too lazy in their efforts.
The second issue was that they had knees that give way. They couldn’t stand. Knowing what was right and doing it are two different things, and there must have been some evidence that those who even tried to make a stand to know God and make him known were falling.
And finally, Isaiah recognized that there were a number who had hearts that feared.
So Isaiah spoke to build up the people and make them ready. "Tell them ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you." Isaiah was telling them to get ready for God’s appearance.
Church, we need to get ready for God’s appearing. I know that we live in trying times. There is a reason why God promises the tree of life "to those who overcome." There are so many around us who grew up in abusive homes, who have been burned by false promises, who have been used or discarded in the name of love. I know the emotions that come with that, the coping mechanisms, the pain. Don’t be afraid. Do not fear. Your God will come. He will come to deliver you from that evil. He will come to save you from your loneliness. He will come to heal you from your pain. He will come and free you from your self-condemnation. He will come! How desperately do you want him?
Over and over again I see people who have hands that are feeble and knees that give way and hearts that fear. Like Indiana Jones, we can be penitent and walk according to God’s word, but sooner or later we also have to trust him. Far too often it is at the test of trust that we demonstrate that we really don’t want God desperately enough for him to come. Let me share with you a few examples I’ve seen in my years in ministering to others.
One need that arises over and over again is the need for companionship. Understandably, people long to be saved from their loneliness. If you were to ask me what was the one thing people want more than they want to see the glory of God, I would say it is eros—romantic love. This was always an issue when I worked with teenagers. They face so much internal and external pressure to have a boyfriend or girlfriend. I’ve never seen anything shipwreck a young person’s faith faster than the drive to have an intimate relationship with an unguarded heart. Following their heart rather than following the Lord, I’ve seen scores of young people that ignore my teaching or warnings who either disappeared from the church or showed up again to talk about how they will deal with their unwanted pregnancy. The heart is deceitful above all things. Who can understand it? But this is not just a teenage problem anymore. Single and divorced adults face the same temptation to save themselves from their loneliness, going about dating and courtship in the manner of the world, following their heart instead of the Lord, and winding up deeper in the desert.
We also show ourselves weak in our marriages. The divorce rate among Christians is just as high as the rest of the world. When trouble comes in our relationships, we give up. We’ve heard that God’s hates divorce, but our hearts are hard.
I’ve seen people who need salvation from financial difficulties. More often than not, the first thing that goes is the tithe. God says that to trust him we must give him from the firstfruits of our crops. What does it say about how much we want to see his glory if the first thing we do is ignore his word and rob him of our tithes and offerings? Is that not external evidence of an internal desire for something less than glory?
In so many areas, we give up too soon. When the opportunity to step out in faith presents itself, we are not inclined to step out into the unknown in absolute trust that God will take care of us. It’s not that we don’t believe in God. It’s just that at any given moment, our desire for companionship, or freedom from marriage, or financial stability, becomes our greater desire. It’s only when God’s glory becomes our greatest desire that we will see God come. We have to want him badly enough.
Tozer concluded, "The problem is not to persuade God to fill us, but to want God sufficiently to permit him to do so. The average Christian is so cold and so contented with his wretched condition that there is no vacuum of desire into which the blessed Spirit can rush in satisfying fullness."
It’s amazing what we will do for the right motivation. There are people who will hold their hands on a car for days, waiting out the other contestants because they want to win that car. Others will steal and kill for their next heroin fix. I’ve seen a bull run through a wood fence to get to the pretty cow on the other side. In each case, it’s a matter of motivation.
For the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross, scorning its shame. Is the joy of God’s glory sufficient for you to endure? Put that joy before you and it will strengthen your hands. It will prepare you to serve others rather than serve yourself. It will make you steadfast in love, not just with words or tongue, but with action and in truth.
The joy set before you will steady your knees and make you able to stand. When the schemes of the devil come at you like spinning saws, put on the full armor of God and stand firm. Your knees are not only necessary for standing, they are necessary for kneeling. With joy set before you, you will be strengthened to endure in prayer. You can petition the Lord like the widow pleading her case before the unjust judge. You will be able to intercede for the persecuted church. You will be able to come back to the Lord over and over again and pray for that friend or neighbor or relative that needs a touch of his grace.
If you are confident that God will come, your heart need not fear. Calm your heart, for God will come to save you. He will let no temptation come upon you that does not have a way of escape. He will lift you above your trying circumstances.
Tommy Tenney writes in God Catchers, "Your problems aren’t too big—perhaps your worship is too small." Did you know that God promised to be your defender? He is faithful and he is love and he is just. This God will come. Worship him with actions as well as with your words. Wait for him and do not give up.
When Moses and the Israelites were up against the sea with Pharoah’s army approaching, they were terrified.
"They said to Moses, ‘Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
"Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Eqyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for yu; you need only to be still."
Before long, the people were looking back over dry ground that they had crossed over by the hand of the Lord. As Pharoah followed them in, he never made it out. There problem was solved, and they saw the glory of God.
I don’t know what problem or trying circumstance you’ve brought with you tonight. I don’t know what new ones you will face in the days ahead. I do know this: your God will come. Desire nothing more than his glory. Do not be afraid. Stand firm. Let nothing move you. When his glory becomes your greatest goal, your hands will be strengthened. When his glory becomes your number 1 desire, your knees will be steadied. When he alone is your consuming passion, your heart will not fear. Prepare the way for him by wanting him more than anything else. And he will come to you.
How badly do you want it?
