The Most Important Post I've Ever Written

I want to address one of the big reasons why I believe a moral revival has eluded this generation and we have failed to see the awakening that has characterized earlier times.  It is not simply enough to say our time is more complex than previous times.  The claim that the Spirit of God has never penetrated a culture more complicated and more reprehensible than this one simply reveals a poor sense of history.  If God is able to overcome the evils of the third and fourth century Roman emperors, he can certainly penetrate the atheistic-based secular humanism that pervades ours at the moment. 

Neither is it enough to turn to the famous Timothy passages about the great falling away of the last days.  If one reads those passages carefully, it will become quite obvious Paul's not referring to some distant time in the future when he writes, he is warning Timothy about the time Timothy lived in currently and describing the situation as he saw it then.  The church of nearly every generation has believed that they live in the last times.  Paul and Timothy's generation was no exception.  Moreover, in those very same passages that predict a great falling away, Paul predicts that God's Spirit will ultimately prevail even in that situation, and that those fight against it will live to regret it because God’s ways will be shown to be right (see 2 Tim 3:9).  Nowhere does God's Word suggest that one generation has a right to lower its expectations for God to move among its people on eschatological grounds!  The truth of the matter is, we have no idea how close or how far the end really is, and if you think you have it figured out, think again!  Do any of us have any idea how many people in the 1940s understandably thought beyond any shadow of a doubt that Hitler was the Antichrist?  They thought they had it figured out.  Obviously, they were wrong! So, away with the, “It’s the Last Days”, excuses as well!  We are still responsible for our generation.  If the Great Awakening preachers like Edwards and Finney had possessed the same mentality, not only would not know who these men were, but the case could easily be made that the United States may not exist at all, (a topic for another day)!

So what's holding back the potential of a Great Awakening in our day? In addition to our eschatological misunderstandings addressed above, I think the issue could come down to something as simple as an unintentional misreading of one of my favorite passages, 2 Chronicles 7:14:

 "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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

 Despite our tendency to misinterpret it, a lot of good memories and even one of my favorite songs is based on this passage!  Typically this passage has been interpreted by Christians to mean that if Christians would humble themselves, pray and intercede, and repent, that God would bring revival.  However if we are to look at the passage little bit closer in its original context, we will discover God is not giving us a formula for revival at all, but he is instead promising to take care of his people and provide for them if they have a revival!  It is essentially the promises of Deuteronomy 27-28 restated in a temple context for a new generation.  Let me explain.  (2 Chr 7) This passage is rooted in the context of a solemn assembly in honor of the dedication of what became known as Solomon’s Temple, since he oversaw its construction.  These nationwide solemn assemblies were rare events that were usually reserved for times of extreme, nationwide crises.  Ancient Israel was an agriculturally-based society.  The livelihood of her people depended on the ability to effectively farm the land.  When the Temple was being dedicated, God appeared to Solomon and promised him that in the future  when things began to fall apart economically through natural disasters like drought, the first thing people needed to do was take their corporate spiritual temperature by calling a solemn nationwide assembly of repentance to be held in the Temple. God promised Solomon that if he would lead the people to do the things indicative of a backslidden people’s return to God (i.e. exhibit humility, heartfelt prayer and repentance) then God would have mercy and cause the crops to come again (i.e. heal the land). 

Thus, God's promise to "heal their land", does not refer to a spiritual healing of the people as modern Christians typically interpret it. Instead, God required revival as a condition of economic prosperity. Remember, in Old Testament times economic prosperity was considered the primary sign of God’s favor. (This supposed correlation between economic blessings and divine favor  does not necessarily carry over to the New Testament, see James 1:9-11).  Unfortunately this passage does NOT explain how to get people to the point where they are ready to repent and get right with God or pray or intercede, and Solomon was certainly no role model in this area. In Old Testament times, it typically took natural and military disasters to wake people up and cause them to repent.  Sadly, we appear to be much like them. 

But wait!  There's more!  Jesus provides his disciples with the model! We don’t have to wait for things to fall apart to make a difference. We don’t even have to have “the right people” in power! The apostles certainly were not afforded that luxury, that’s for sure!  Ironically they likely had the same mentality we typically have today.  They were waiting for God to do something.  Jesus had to change their mentality.  Once he was able to do that, the disciples witnessed the beginnings of a revival whose impact is still being felt and talked about today!  And get this; you don’t even need a great minister, evangelist, or motivational speaker!  God uses all of that at different times, but that's not really what softens people's heart to make them want to repent.  Here's what Jesus said:

“Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (Mt 10:41-42).

At a later time, probably not far from his death Jesus sought to encourage his disciple about the seemingly ominous and overwhelming task that lie ahead:

“Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.” Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman  who took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough^.” (Lk 13:18-20).

The disciples didn't have a lot of "resources" at their disposal, but they did have the Spirit of God within them.  Jesus taught his disciples that the real revival they sought wasn't going to come through some great event eschatological or otherwise, but through an intentional life that focused on doing the small things from a pure heart with a conscious awareness of God's presence in all we do.  It is to live Incarnationally as physical and visible extensions of Christ’s body in action.  In the words of the apostle Paul:

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Co 10:31). 

Each of the above passages highlights the fact that it's not about waiting for something big to happen, not even the rapture.  It's about living an intentional life with the constant awareness of God's presence living in and through you as you go about your daily tasks as intentional acts of worship.  It’s more about how and why we do what we do that it is about what we do. It is what brother Lawrence called "practicing the presence of God."  

God may in fact bless us with unforgettable events to ignite something beyond our dreams.  If he does, it will more than likely be in response to people who chose to be faithful and intentional in the small things when nothing big was happening and no one else was looking.  Seeds are small things; a cup of cold water is something that doesn't make the headlines.  Satan tries to get us to focus on our failures and seeming insignificance (a lie from Satan himself), so we will do nothing and stay focused on a world "going to hell in a hand basket.”  However, when we pick ourselves up and focus on what we can do in the name of Christ rather than what we or everybody else is not doing, we have the prescription for a revival like this generation has never seen! If you question what I’m saying let me close with this simple challenge: For one week, make an intentional decision to see yourself as Jesus with skin on in whatever you do and just watch and see what happens!