Dear BAGBR Church,
Psalm 85: 6 "Will you not
yourself revive us again,
that Your people may rejoice
in You?"
How and when does revival
occur among God's people?
First of all, there must be
the recognition that only
God Himself can bring about
true revival. Revival is
not rededication to being
more faithful or being
better, because often this
kind of revival continues
only as long as someone's
resolve and emotions can
sustain it. Revival is not
increased church activity
with more programs, bigger
worship celebrations, and
events! Revival begins with
the deep desire by God's
people to do what He desires
among His people. The above
examples have a common
theme, it is man-initiated
and thus man-controlled.
Notice the words: Will You
not Yourself revive us
again? It is the total
abandoning of control and
surrender to God for Him to
do what He desires, in order
to bring about an authentic
reviving of His people. We
do not stipulate how, what,
or how long?
The second part of the
statement is confessional:
"that Your people may
rejoice in You!" It is also
an admittance that whatever
the people of God are
currently doing or
experiencing is not genuine
revival or rejoicing in the
Lord. Why does revival
tarry? It tarries when we
refuse to honestly examine
our current worship,
privately and corporately,
and there is no willingness
for God to change us or
change it. We want to be
able to control and even
contain God, so that, we can
continue to maintain and
enjoy our current "religious
practices." And maybe, we
truly "do not" want this
kind of revival because we
know there would be changes
that we are not willing to
make. There are sins that we
are NOT willing to confess,
and there are ways that we
are not willing to forsake?
We may say, sing, and even
preach that we want revival,
but do we want
revival--God's way?