Revival: Being Willing To Listen

            To be revived in the Lord is to have your affection for Jesus renewed or refreshed. Those who have been Christian for at least a few years have most likely experienced the up and down of the journey of faith. Most of us have spurts where we are up on our Bible study, prayer, fellowship, and desire to serve the Lord. During these times it seems we cannot get enough of our religion and it even becomes difficult for us to understand how others do not feel the same way. In many Christian circles this is called being on “fire”—and rightly so because a person’s love for the Lord burns hot.  

            But we also have spells where we lull. And as difficult as it is for us to understand, at times, how some people are not on “fire” for the Lord, when we go through our down times it is just as difficult for us to comprehend how we got in such a rut. Apathy rules during those times. And when this takes root, it is hard to break. But most of us have been set free, at some point in our journey—and often multiple times—from such a chain as apathy and have seen afresh the beauty of Jesus. The best feeling in the world, a sense of elation accompanies such a reviving. There is nothing better than a rekindled love for the Savior, for the one who shed his blood on the cross as a sacrifice for our sin.

            If you have experienced such a reviving in the past, can you remember how good you felt when you repented of your sin and turned again to the Lord? Would you not want to experience such joy again? The key to revival, at least in my opinion, is a willingness on our part to listen. Who might we listen to, some might say—the preacher, the music minister? Well, sort of. Though these men might be instruments God uses, I’m referring to listening to God. Are you willing to do such a thing?

            The Bible is very clear that Christians have the Holy Spirit of God residing within them. For example, in Romans 8:9, we read, “…And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (NIV).  In addition, in Ephesians 1:13 Paul is noted as saying, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory” (NIV). And in 1 Corinthians 2:14, the Scriptures state, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (NIV).  It is by the Spirit of God that indwells the saved person that God the Father communicates with His children.

            The primary way in which God communicates with us is by the Bible. As we read the inspired word of God we get a glimpse of who He is, what He likes and dislikes, and what He desires of us. The Spirit that indwells us makes the truth of Scripture clear to us. At the point something is made clear, it can be rightly understood on our part. But God communicates in a secondary way. And this is through the Holy Spirit. Again, for such communication to take place, a person must be born-again, with the Holy Spirit indwelling them. But such communication does not involve revelation of new truth, or revealing some type of new end-time scenario that is not mentioned in the Bible.

            The secondary way of communication involves more of a personal, day-to-day guidance from God, through the Holy Spirit. The Bible undergirds such communication. For example, we know that in the Bible, especially in the New Testament, there are several places that speak of repentance. For the believer, on a day-to-day basis, God might communicate with you, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, that you need to repent of a certain sin that is in your life. Such communication does not reveal new truth outside of the Bible, but reinforces biblical principles, of which we all are to live by. Also, I believe God communicates in such a way, with us, to direct our daily steps. Perhaps God wants us to take part in a certain ministry, help a certain person, etc. Through the Holy Spirit, God communicates with His children. We often describe this with such terminology as, “God laid such and such on my heart.”

            In Acts 20:22, while Paul was giving his farewell address to the Ephesian Elders, he gives us a little insight into this. Paul stated these words: “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there…” (NIV). Paul was “compelled by the Spirit” to go to Jerusalem. In layman’s terms, he felt God was moving on him to go to Jerusalem. In our day, we might say God laid it on our heart to go to Jerusalem. However one thinks of it, God spoke and Paul listened.

            And that brings me to my point. When God speaks, are you willing to listen? We often talk about revival—we say we want it desperately—but are we willing to listen to God when He speaks to us? Are we willing to turn from the sins in our lives when He tells us to? Are we willing to listen to what He has to say about the future of our ministry? For true revival to take place, I believe it starts with us. But more importantly, we have to be willing to listen to God. I hope you are. I know that I am.