Among
Baptists the autumn months often bring several special events. Fall festivals
get people in the mood for the bounty represented by Thanksgiving. Many
churches plan homecoming or anniversary celebrations when the weather begins to
show signs of cooling off. Then there are the fall revivals.
These annual
events serve to aid in focusing the resources of the local congregation upon
spiritual self-evaluation, a reemphasis upon the gospel proclamation, and it
even gives the local pastor a chance to hear someone else preach.
If to revive
means “to return or restore to consciousness or life: become or make active or
flourishing again” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary), then there must be preparation
made to have hope that revival will take place. When we acknowledge the miracle
of revival is not in our hands but is an act of God in the life of an individual
and a congregation, then the best we can do is try to make ourselves available
for such divine action.
What is
valid preparation for revival? II Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are
called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn
from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their
sins, and will heal their land.
The opening
phrase makes the whole concept of being revived a conditional event. “If my
people, who are called by my name…” gives the strong implication that God waits
for the cooperation of those who have identified with him as their God in the
sense of the Covenant Statement: I will be their God and they will be my
people. Only if we as his people are willing to receive the results of revival
will we see God’s hand in action.
What does
God require his people to do? Four ideas are mentioned in this verse. The first
is self-humiliation. God finds it
difficult to work his miracles in us if we feel we don’t need him. A
recognition must be present we are not what we ought to be and we cannot get
there on our own. We need God. Honesty can be a hard pill to swallow, but it is
required medicine.
Prayer that is effective is always two-way.
We talk to God. We listen to God. He speaks through his written word. He speaks
through fellow pilgrims on the Way. He speaks through life experiences in which
we are sensitive to his nature being revealed. When we are honest before God in
prayer, we begin to see ourselves as God sees us.
When Adam
and Eve made the decision they no longer needed God to direct their lives
(Genesis 3), they also discovered they could not rest easy in his presence.
They felt compelled to hide. To seek the
face of God is to acknowledge who he is, who we are, and how much we need
him. With the reestablished relationship, God can do wonderful things in our
lives.
The biblical
concept of repent comes from the image of a journey in which the traveler is
heading in one direction and then makes a 180 degree turn. God calls his people
to reject evil and wickedness. He does not recognize a gray area in the
decision-making system of his followers. Right and wrong are distinguished. Our
confusion comes when we are reluctant to pay the price for being right. We seek
a compromise, a gray area. That 180 degree turn demands confession of sin and the
request for forgiveness with no compromise. That means recognizing, acknowledging, and regretting we are sinners.
These
revival meetings offer one more source of strength – The Body of Christ united.
We encourage one another. There is strength in numbers. Christians alone become
lonely Christians who become weak Christians. Satan does not like Christians
claiming victory. He will throw cold water on the revival fires if possible.
Christians revived are a threat to the wickedness of the world. This twelfth
anniversary of a major sign of evil in our world should urge all of us to seek
to have our relationship with God strengthened. May we see real revival take
place.
