Revive Us Again

Government isn't the answer. Many people seem to think that the right person in office or the right party in place will certainly solve our problems. Get the right justices and the right laws and we'll be fine. Nice idea, I suppose, but no matter how we revise our laws, things don't seem to get better. People still kill people. Crime rises. Problems deepen.

Money ... that will help. If we can put more money into education, education will improve. Make more money available and we can end poverty. Throw more money at the health care situation and things will certainly get better. More money, of course, doesn't actually fix anything.

Pass better gun control, we think, and we can end murders. Nonsense! Make abortion illegal and the problem of abortion will go away. Not really! Legalize drugs and the drug problem is gone. No. Legalize gay marriage and things will be great. Or they will be the end for marriage.

No, government won't solve our problems. Our answers aren't in a better economy. Better laws or getting our particular way isn't it. Since our problems don't originate in our circumstances, better circumstances won't help. The problem originates in human beings, so the remedy lies in a renovation of the human heart. Of course, no legislation, no government entity, no environmental movement or economic package will cause a change in the human heart; that is a job limited to God.

The term I have in mind is "revival". Of course, many people have a different concept of the term than what I'm thinking. The common idea of "revival" is a tent meeting where charismatic speakers will bring the gospel to unbelievers. "Revival" doesn't actually fit that concept. "Revival" has its root in "vivere" -- to live. The "re" at the beginning says, "again." Thus, to "revive" is not "to bring new life" as would be the aim of sharing the gospel, but to bring back to life. So revival is for believers, not unbelievers. A lot of people have heard of the Great Awakening in the early part of America's history. What they don't realize is that the message wasn't being preached to unbelievers; it was being preached to churches, and the overflow spilled onto unbelievers.

What are the components of revival? I'm not sure that it is that simple. Since the life of which I speak is limited to God, it's up to God to provide it. It is a work of the Holy Spirit at any given time. And since God is not a "tame lion", it's not something you can program. There is no "twelve-step revival" plan available. What we can do is find out what is common to revival and we can seek revival. So what are some of the common elements in revival?

One of the largest revivals in the Bible took place in Ezra and Nehemiah. The people came back from captivity and rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. When they had finished the initial task, the people gathered "as one man"on the first day of the seventh month and stood and listened to the reading of the Law. The response to this reading was a "camp out", where everyone pitched tents to stay and listen to more of God's Word. As a consequence there was a nationwide repentance. On the 24th day of the month, "the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads" (Neh. 9:1). They separated themselves from foreigners and "stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers" (Neh. 9:2). The prayer that follows (Neh. 9:5-38) us a prayer that magnifies God and minimizes Man. It is a prayer of adoration and thanksgiving and of repentance. It speaks of how wonderful God is and how sinful Man is -- specifically Israel ... "us".

There are several component in this revival that would be common to all revivals. First, there is a desire. The people gathered. They had a purpose. They sought God. They set aside personal comfort and personal schedules and sought God. Second, there was God's Word. God speaks. It is necessary to engage God's Word. It God must say what He wants to say. The third component is critical and, in my opinion, desperately lacking today: Confession and repentance.

We are really good at recognizing the sin in the lives of other people, but it seems as if we get comfortable with a certain level of sin in our lives. We call it "bad habits" or "shortcomings" or "little vices" and we think, "I'm not as bad as that" whatever "that" might be. We set our standards at the level of those around us instead of God who is holy. We're not that bad. And if we are, it seems like we are alone. I mean, I have problems, but it looks like no one else does, so there's no way I'm going to tell you that I have problems since I'm all alone in my problems. I only wish I could be as perfect as the rest of you appear to be. Confession and repentance. We don't do it. We don't admit to our sin. We aren't mortified by our sin. We don't hate our sin. We don't change from our sin. Still, we sit in church and think, "Why is the Christian life so stale so much of the time? Why is it that God so often seems so far away?"

We need to seek God with other believers. We need to listen to God's Word with all our might, setting aside all other distractions. We need to recognize our sin, confess it, and repent from it. We need life again, that "first love", revival. It can happen one at a time. It can spread across churches. When God gets hold of His people, they begin to infect others. It spreads. It overflows into the world, where God uses the enthusiasm of His people to splash over onto those around and bring some to Him.

Government isn't the answer. Better justices or better laws or better economics are not the answer. We need changed hearts. We need revival. We need people to come to life again. We need to return to that first love. It is the people of God that need to turn, to seek Him, to devour His Word, to confess and repent. "If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chron. 7:14).