i was asked to give some thoughts on revival in the wednesday night men's bible class. there is a group of men, talking about, studying and praying about revival; in their lives and in the life of our church.
so the past couple of days i have been pondering revival and thinking about instances in my life when revival has happened (or so i thought). my conversion was at age 14 - i made the decision to follow jesus. my journey began, and in my early
20's i experienced a revival of sorts. at the heart of that revival, was capturing a vision for the kingdom of god. i began to understand the mission of jesus in a whole new way. all of the sudden it wasn't just about "getting to heaven," but it was about engaging daily in spiritual warfare. it became about trusting jesus as the lord of my life - and being set free to experience true life.
in large part, christians have lost sight of the vision of the kingdom. we have made it about church, rules, doctrine or sometimes we have just made it about our "american dreams." i have learned that i can't impart a vision for the kingdom on anyone. i can teach about it, talk about it and blog about it - but christ alone gives the vision.
so today, i listened to a greg boyd sermon entitled "taking back the house." and in this sermon he hits on this vision. he asserts that western christianity has explained the reason jesus came to earth and died was soley to engage in a legal transaction in which we are forgiven. it is all about the transaction.
i have written some about this in earlier posts, so i won't re-hash here, but i agree with him! it is not just about a mysterious transaction. the real reason jesus came, live and died was to "take back the house." the world is in bondage to the "principalies and powers." it is run by satan. but through the perfect life, death and resurrection of jesus he has taken back the house and wants to "divide the plunder." he wants us, in our everyday lives, to wage war against sin - and take it back for god!! however, we don't fight like the world fights. it is not "eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth." instead he has shown us the only true way to over power evil - with good. with sacrificial living and dying for people.
now i believe recapturing this vision alone, will bring revival in our individual hearts and the church. this is why jesus came. we are freed from sin and it's bondage and ushered into a reality like no other - the reality of the kingdom of god!
amen!!
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I haven't ever cared for the word "revival" you know. What needs revived anyhow? Because I have chosen His Lordship, God's Spirit continues to patiently (if quietly) invite me to make right choices for His Glory...so it's not the Holy Spirit that needs revived. I, of course, continue to live a double existance -- with one foot in the spirit and one foot in the flesh, I don't think I'll ever escape that paradox in this life (though I do look forward to a very literal revival someday).
I don't consider myself ever in need of revival (as an event), though I suppose that one might someday find himself in such a position. Instead, I see myself in continual need of recalibration. I always need to refocus, recenter, reorient myself to the cross.
It feels like a moving target at times, not because Christ changes, but because my understanding of Him is never complete...and sometimes it becomes foggier or clearer, and I find myself in need of a course correction.
For me, the term "revival" passes the blame (that is, 'God will just have to light a fire under me because I don't feel zealous for my faith.') When in fact, it's not God's fault that I've become distracted or off-center. Instead, it's my job to be always tender to his lead, always attentive to his will...recalibrating at every opportunity.
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