The Promise of Revival

I recently wrote about "The Apathy in America," which presents a picture of how the majority of people are sitting on the periphery, very troubled, yet doing nothing to really affect change. Now I don't want to present myself as having too negative of an attitude toward the plight of America and concomitantly the church, so let me broach another subject, that of Revival.  Someone has well said that what we all need is revival...a God-sent Revival.

In 1966, Dionne Warwick recorded a blockbuster song, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, that spread like wildfire across the globe.  The title of that song is "What the World Needs Now is Love," and it goes on to say it "...is love sweet love, not just for some but for everyone."  The premise of the song is that "love" is the answer to every problem that we encounter.  I would agree, in part, with one caveat, that love generated by you or me is not enough to make any significant change.

About 2,000 years ago, the Bible says that God showed us His kind of love by sending His only Son, Jesus (who in fact is the second person of the God-head) to pay the penalty for our sin.  Perfect God required a perfect sacrifice as the propitiation (the payment) for that sin and only He was qualified to make the sacrifice.  So, let's see...if you and I are imperfect and we cannot approach perfect God, then, though I cannot comprehend this level of love, I accept the gift that God has given, by faith.  This is the kind of love that "the world needs now...for everyone!"

Now back to the statement that what the world really needs is a "God-sent Revival."  Since man has moved so far away from God by worshipping the idol of self and in most part he has no concept of God's kind of love, then Revival may not be what the world really needs.  Before one can be revived to something he once had, he must have once had it.  Re-read that statement.  Actually, what the world needs is not revival, but rather a God-sent awakening!

An awakening can and will happen only after the church in America and around the world first has a God-sent revival.  As history has revealed, this has happened time and time again when God's people become convicted  enough with their own failure and of the movement of the world away from God. They then get on their knees and confess to God that failure to be what He wants them to be (His people doing His will for His glory).  They then begin to plead for revival in their own lives and in the church locally, in America and around the world.  God's promise is that "He will hear from heaven, He will forgive their sins...and then (only then) will He heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:13-14).

A God-Sent Revival in the church will then be followed by an awakening across the land.  Isaiah the prophet cried out for God to split open the heavens and come down to reveal Himself again so that the world might see who He really is (Isaiah 64:1-2). God did this when Jesus became a man, died on a cruel cross, was buried in a grave, and then He conquered death by comng back to life.  This He doesn't need to do again (once was enough for all-time) but what we do  need now is for the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Triune Godhead, to bring change to our world. We need a God-sent Revival followed by a God-sent Awakening before the prophesied end of the world as we now know it when Jesus comes as conqueror and King.

This is a true statement that what the church needs is a God-sent Revival!  What the world needs is a God-sent Awakening so that they can see what true love really is, love that is found in God's heart and that comes from God alone. Then, and only then, can I agree with Dionne Warwick that "What the World Needs Now is Love"...it's the true kind of selfless love that comes from God ..."not just for some but for everyone."

"For God loved the world so much that He gave us His only Son so that whoever believes in Him might not perish but that they might have eternal life" (John 3:16).

GOD'S DESIGN FOR MARRIAGE

Most every little girl fantasizes what she will look like in her new white wedding dress as she walks down the aisle to be married to her "Prince Charming."  On the other hand, most boys look at girls with a guttural expression like "yuk!"  That is until he sees the one girl that causes his eyes to bug out and his heart to melt.

Marriage is so much more than two love swept young adults who are entering that commitment without a clue as to what its all about.  A wise pastor/counselor will spend multiple sessions with the engaged couple helping them to get a grasp on reality, that is without scaring one or both away, long before the marriage ceremony.

The commitment of two very different people, in love though they may be, who are from different families and who are from two different places was visualized in a song whose lyrics said that women are from "Venus" while men are from "Mars."  So it is that the couple, which is so very different from each other, is off on an educational journey of learning so much that is totally new about life and forgetting so much about unreal expectations.  Both will remain distinct because each has been created in the image of God...yet the "two shall become one" as they meld their two personalities into one which is stronger and enhanced.  Separate they are weak but like iron ore when melded (by heat) with carbon become strong steel, when the two individuals become one, they too are so much stronger.

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the church in Ephesus, helped the church in that place, and he helps all people of subsequent times, to understand the very basic relationship of the man and woman in marriage.  Lets look briefly at that passage of Holy Scripture and see just what it is that God intends for the marriage relationship to look like.

Before I begin this brief Spirit-led instruction on marriage, I want to tell you that the first priority before a Godly marriage is that each individual must have a personal relationship with God.  If you do not have that relationship, your marriage will be a tuff, rocky road. The Word of God tells us that "God so loved the world (that's you and me) that He gave His One and only Son (Jesus Christ) so that whoever would believe on Him might have eternal life" (John 3:16).  Jesus lived a perfect life on earth and died a horrific death to pay the penalty for your sins and mine.

Someone once described this act of God's Son as "He paid a debt that He did not owe, because we had a debt that we could not pay."  God is Holy...perfect and without any flaw...and He cannot have a relationship, which He has desired to have from creation, with you because you (and I, and all men and women) are flawed by sin.  Sin is failing to live up to the God standard of perfection.  That's why only Jesus could pay the price for that sin since He alone is sinless.

In order to have that relationship with God, which in and of itself is a very special gift from Him, we are told in Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 10:9-10, that "if you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and its is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved."  And verse 13 says, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

If you have never received the "free" gift of salvation, and you really want that for your life, you can do it right now.  Just pray to God, "I accept Jesus as Lord of my life and I believe in my heart that You were raised from the dead for me.  I want to thank you God for saving me and for giving me everlasting life in a relationship with You."  If you have done this I want to personally welcome you into the family of God.

Now, having done this, if you have a Bible, I want you to open your Bible to the New Testament book of Ephesians and read from chapter 5. (If you do not have a Bible, you should purchase one, or you can contact me and I'll see to it that you get one.)  Ephesians 5:2 says that we are to "live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ." Now comes the instructions for living together as husband and wife.

"...submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.  For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord.  For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church.  He is the savior of his body, the church.  As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.  For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up His life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God's Word. He did this to present her to Himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.  In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body."

As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one." (Ephesians 5:21-31)

You wives may question the requirement that you are to submit to your husband.  Yet, I believe that you will find it an easy thing to do if your husband truly loves you as he follows the loving example of Christ who demonstrated His love for the church (that's all who believe in Him) by sacrificing His life for her.  How can all this be done?  Remember, the prologue to this instruction is that we are to "live a life filled with love." And, its not just the wife who has to submit but both the wife and the husband are to "...submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."

When this balance gets out of whack as one or both of the partners decides to think more of themselves than they think of the other, hurt feelings and broken hearts result causing the breakdown of the covenant that was made in the vows taken at the beginning.

Divorce often is the result of the broken vows...not just because of infidelity...it is more than that.  The directive that "the two shall become one" devolves into the one becoming two!  However, there is always hope for reconciliation, especially for the marriage of two people who have given their lives to Christ.  You see, in Him, all things are possible.  It will take much work from both, maybe some valuable Christian counselling, but in the end, the effort will be worth it all and God will be glorified in the process.

The next verse in that passage of Scripture from Ephesians 5, verse 32, says, "This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one."  As we learn to live together as husband and wife, we learn the eternal lesson of the relationship of Christ and the church.  He gave His life for her and she (we) submits to Him as Lord and Savior.  Marriage when lived in relationship with each other is the training ground for so much more than a few decades of living together.  Rather, it is the preparation for an understanding of just what it will be like to live with Christ in His kingdom and through everlasting life.

The Apathy of America

I am in  the process of re-reading Dr. David Jeremiah's timely book, Is This The End?  This book was published four years ago and it seems to be even more applicable today. Chapter four of his book is entitled "The Apathy of America" where he opens up the reality of how America is very like the nation of Israel as revealed in the Old Testament book of "Judges."  Dr. Jeremiah calls our condition "a downward spiral" from which it becomes very difficult to pull out.

He quotes Erwin Lutzer, pastor emeritus of the Moody Church in Chicago, where he writes about how quickly apathy can return after a period of renewal:

"When the 9/11 terrorist attacks happened, "God Bless America" signs were everywhere, even on marquees on porn shops.  Everyone thought that surely God could be trusted to come to our side in this war against terror. . . . But once our nation felt secure again, God was safely tucked away, church attendance declined, and the so-called wall of separation of church and state was built a notch higher. . . . The God of the Bible will not endlessly tolerate idolatry and benign neglect. He graciously endures rejection and insults, but at some point, He might choose to bring a nation to its knees with severe discipline."

"Dr. Jeremiah further writes: Imagine what would happen to the moral and spiritual health of America if the true church of Jesus Christ suddenly vanished.  We don't know how may true Christians would disappear. of course, but estimates suggest the the US population might be reduced by a much as 70 percent (this may be an exaggerated percentage).  More devastating than the number would be the absence of the Holy Spirit, who empowers Christians to be salt and light in society (Matthew 5:13-16). Without the Spirit's influence, all hell would break loose in America - literally - sending this nation into a devolution from which it would not recover (2 Thessalonians 2:5-12)."

The past two weeks of protests over the horrific murder of George Floyd have devolved into chaos as peaceful protestors exercising their Constitutional right to gather and speak out against injustice have been overtaken by "anarchists" seeking to take advantage of the circumstances and bring America to her knees.  Multiple cities all over America have fallen prey to these Satanic activists whose whole scheme is to stir up the emotions of obtuse, senseless and illogical individuals who blindlessly follow those who lead from behind.  

It is the responsibility of the church to stand up for truth and pour light on Satan's schemes being worked out in the streets of our cities.  America is acting like a formerly great symphony orchestra which is out of tune.  Dr. Jeremiah wrote that "the nation has lost its pitch by removing God from its life, thus producing dissonant chords of cynicism and apathy.  Into this cacophony of hopelessness, God calls His people to sound a clear A so the world can hear above the discord the heavenly note of hope."  It is the church which needs to wake up to her calling to be an instrument of change, an instrument of hope in the midst of our dying culture and society.

In this chapter, Jeremiah writes that "the church has a living hope as pilgrims."  This world is not our home . . .  indeed, we are just pilgrims passing through on our way to an eternal home with our Creator and Savior.  It is our deep responsibility and opportunity to rescue as many from this world and bring them with us . . .  of those who will accept the gift of life from God.

This living hope of which Dr. Jeremiah writes is seen in his subtitles:

• Our Living Hope Rests in the Power of the Resurrection
• Our Living Hope Rests in the Promise of Our Reward
• Our Living Hope Rests in Our Protection Until Christ's Return

He says that "if we are diligent to reflect that hope to our neighbors, we may find that it is too early to write-off America.  Even if Christianity becomes a minority, we must remember that only ten righteous men would have saved Sodom...We Christians could well be the rudder that turns America's ship out of the doldrums of apathy and into the security of commitment," and might I add out of darkness and into the true Light of God's grace.

Is it too late for America?  It is never too late until God has had enough and sends His Son to retrieve His church in an event know as "the Rapture."  You and I do not know when this will occur . . . we do know the season or signs of the time and it seems that that hour could be very near.   Since we do not know when that time will happen, what we do know is that we are to reach out and touch as many people as possible with God's love. (John 3:16)