Revival: Take It or Leave It?

From the Cluttered Desk…August 20, 2006…Volume 51, Edition 34

AS A PRODUCT of the Jesus Movement in the late 1960’s, I know what a movement of God can look like. I know that men like Vance Havner, Ron Dunn and Manley Beasley longed to see a fresh wind of the Spirit of God blow one more time. It is my desire to see God move again in power. We've seen, by the grace of God, mercy drops but we need the showers.

MUCH OF AMERICA has experienced a drought in the last few years. Wildfires have consumed valuable timber because of these conditions. In many ways, we are in a spiritual drought that has been going on for nearly one hundred years in . While we as a nation witnessed a visitation from God in the First and Second Great Awakenings, we have not seen that kind of moving of the Spirit in our lifetime.

CHURCHES ARE DYING. Many churches are either closing down or they have declined to just a few elderly people who are holding on. The church needs a revival. We don’t need any more “Christianity-Lite.” Vance Havner said, “Sunday morning Christianity is the greatest hindrance to true revival. We will not gain the attention of heaven if all we are committed to is a few hours at church.”

REVIVAL IS a sovereign work of God. When revival comes, God sovereignly moves in. It can’t be orchestrated. It can’t be calendared. It can’t be organized. But we can pray for it. The Psalmist cried out, “Will You not Yourself revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?” (Psalm 85:6, NASU).

SEVERAL YEARS AGO when we began our ReFRESH Conference, we saw God move in a mighty way in our midst. Have we so easily forgotten? I remember couples who went to the preschool area and brought their kids to the altar and prayed over them. Some of those families don’t even come to church on Sunday nights anymore. Was it for show? Did we really want God to take over in our lives and homes? It makes you wonder.

WE WILL BE JUDGED by the light we have and the blessings we've been given. We've been blessed more than any church I've ever been a part of personally. We've had more opportunities given to us than any church I've ever been a part of. With all the great men of God who have passed our way through the years, are we unaware that God will hold us accountable for what we've heard? Have we forgotten? We are not only responsible for what we hear, but also for what we would have heard if we had been listening.

I THINK we will also be responsible for putting other things ahead of seeking God. Whether it is Little League, the YMCA, ballet or television, do we want to answer to God for letting the least become the most important in our lives? Have we not made our children idols and given them attention that is worthy of God alone?

I’M NOT TELLING YOU to ignore your kids; but the greatest thing you can do for them is to let them get a glimpse of revival and a movement of God. The younger generations need to see what happens when Jesus is Lord and God moves in. They need to see us keenly aware of our sin because we've become aware of the fact that we are accountable to a holy God.

NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING is to come before the Lord. Not things, family or personal opinions. The person who thinks he can live without a personal revival is self-deceived and arrogant. The number one characteristic of a true revival is repentance. There will never be real revival without repentance and confession of sin.

WHATEVER IT COSTS to make things right with God, it never costs as much as leaving things as they are. Revival is nothing less than a new beginning of obedience and love for God. It is a renewed commitment to the Lordship of Christ, to His Word and to prayer. It will result in evangelism and a passion for the glory of God.

A REVIVAL is not a cure-all. The devil has his own revival when God begins to work in a church. But, I would rather deal with the problems that come from revival than the problems many churches face when planning their own funerals because they have not prayed for revival.

ARTHUR S. WOOD wrote: Revival is not something we have and must seek to keep, but something we lack and must plead to receive. The greatest hindrance to revival is pride among the Lord's people.

WILL YOU JOIN ME in asking God to revive us? Will you join me and make ReFRESH a priority and not an option on your calendar? Will you bring your kids so they see that their parents have biblical priorities? Will you lead by example? Let me take that back. You will lead by example; its just a matter of whether your example will be good or bad.

I DO NOT CONSIDER something like ReFRESH to be optional. I consider it a necessity. It is more important than anything else you might have planned. Take vacation time from work if necessary, but don't miss it. Signs of the times are everywhere. There is trouble in the Middle East. There are problems on every street corner. There is apathy in the professing church. There’s carnality on every pew. If we don’t have revival, we could see the day when God’s Spirit no longer strives with the church in .

MOST PEOPLE wouldn't want to live in a place where there are no churches. But, when we are apathetic about the church and about matters like revival, we demonstrate this “take it or leave it” attitude.

ONE LAST THOUGHT. If, by the grace of God, the Holy Spirit sovereignly comes down on us during ReFRESH, where will you be? Will God find you here or somewhere else doing your thing and missing the thing He is doing?

The Friar