Revival Starts With Repentance Part 1
Like many of you, I have been watching snippets of footage on my phone from the current Asbury Revival happening on the campus of Asbury University in Kentucky. The revival has captivated Christians across the country as young and old come to the altars and microphones to confess their sins and align their will with God's. It's been 10+ days now and the fervor to "sit tight and get right" with God is growing and spreading.
Our nation needs revival, no doubt. Many churches have been praying specifically for revival for years without seeing Asbury-type results. As I asked the Lord, 'why hasn't revival come to us?' I was gently reminded that revival STARTS with repentance. Many churches have walked back from preaching the Good news Gospel, which is first and foremost a message of repentance. Maybe it's because the word 'repent' sounds harsh to those of us who don't want to repent. We as Christians need to own the fact that we have relegated the message of repentance to the back pages when, in reality, it's the main story. Now, we lead with messages of grace and mercy allowing many Christians to excuse what we really don't want to change which is our sin nature. (See Hebrews 10:26).
It's like putting a girdle on (OK, body shaper for the younguns) to hide your fat because you don't want to cut back on the carbs and get out and exercise (ouch). Take the girdle off and you clearly see that nothing on your body has changed because you haven't changed your ways.
"Revival" is the fruit of tilling the soil of our hearts and rooting out what isn't Godly.
Why would our Holy God bring a holy revival to a people unwilling to repent and change the sins of their hearts?
He wouldn't because there wouldn't be any point to it.
And then the Lord brought it home to me (as He so often does.) He quietly whispered, 'when was the last time you truly humbled yourself and repented so that I can revive your heart?'
Ouch. Again!
I can want the results of a personal revival but not want to do what it takes to spark it. And since I have free will, I have the opportunity to partner with God in this Holy Spirit work or...not. I can change my walk with God, or not. If I don't look to God's Word and Jesus' example on what to change and invite Holy Spirit in to make the change, then I won't change.
God reminded me of what happened to Israel just a few decades after the beautiful temple of Jerusalem had been built and then destroyed. In the disarray was found the book of the law which, obviously had been neglected. God's written Word was "lost" to Israel until it was resurrected from the broken-down temple. (2 King's 22:11-13). Think about that. How can a nation call on the Lord and follow His precepts without knowing what they are and actually following them? How can a nation move forward in righteousness if it constantly forgets the wrongs of its past?
How can we as individuals?
If it happened in Israel among God's chosen people then it can happen in our homes and our hearts. The Word of the Lord can be lost, buried deep in the rubble of our temples just as forgotten as His Book. In that state of affairs, we get to justify our sins as we act like we don't know what constitutes sin. We start to follow what society says is normal but really isn't Godly.
Abortion is a prime example. It is the modern day equivalent of child sacrifice of Old Testament times. In fact, substitute "child sacrifice" when reading the word "abortion" and that should remind you of the level of evil we are dealing with.
Abortion is not health care, abortion is not a woman's right, Abortion should not be celebrated, and Abortion is not normal. Abortion is a sin and until we repent and turn back to God we will not be revived.
We as a nation experienced this with slavery and now we are living it with abortion. When we choose not to follow God's Word on how to treat one another or get amnesia about what He says is sin, then we fall backward into chaos just like the Israelites. We trash our temples and let society rewrite the book governing our lifestyle.
What must we do to be restored to God and experience revival? We must come to Him with a tender heart (not proud or arrogant or dismissive of our wrongdoings or those of our fathers), humble ourselves (truly repent for ourselves and our fathers), seek His Word that was hidden (read and meditate on it daily), hear what God has spoken (listen to Holy Spirit consistently), accept Jesus as our Lord (follow His commands and teachings) and show remorse for our sins (change our heart and our ways). Then God can begin the heart work of true restoration within us, our homes, the church, our communities, and the nation.
Until then, we can enjoy the revival we see on our phone screens but we will not be partakers of the move of God that could cleanse our land.
Much love and many blessings! Sylvia
Enjoy Amazing Grace by Carl Ellis
