Sustained Revival

The countdown was officially over, the Mission Empowerment Conference we had all been praying and planning for had finally come. And so, sitting in the corner, looking at how everything was coming together, the excitement on people’s faces and everything that goes with it, I was so excited to be part of what promised to be a reviving experience.

Sermons, seminars, lunch, seminars- the cycle went on until five days later. And then I found myself in that empty hall again, this time with no people, no décor and no sermons being preached, and it finally dawned on me that that was it; the conference was done. Time for life to continue as usual, or should it?

So often we attend weeks of prayer, revival campaigns, evangelistic seminars but all these eventually come to an end and so does the spiritual zeal. But should that be the case? Are we entitled to only have a five-day, or four weeks long revival? We are all too familiar with that spiritual high experience, the peak of our religiosity that makes us think that should Jesus come today, I am ready for translation! But weeks later, we are back to our usual self, the flickering flames of our so-called revival burn out and what remains is a dark, cold, lifeless fireplace. However, such should not be the case. I believe the purpose of all these revivals is not only to create a spiritual thirst but also to encourage a continual growth that quenches the thirst.

And so like many others, the question that really bugs at the back of our heads is how do I stay fired up? How do I ensure that this revival am experiencing is not short-lived? The good news is the Bible provides an answer. Jesus told a parable in Matthew 13, which He aptly explains in verses 20 to 23:

“20. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21. yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becomes unfruitful. 23. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

So, there is a Sower or a bearer of the message as well as the message itself or the seed but the results are different. The problem is not with the seed, neither is it with the sower, no. The problem is with the ground. Sometimes we receive the world but because we have not yet surrendered entirely to God, the experience only endures for a while. There are still those cares and concerns of this world that we have not resolutely decided to let go of and consequently, the word we receive is choked and we go back to life as usual.

There were, and still are times when I come back from a wonderful worship service and am convinced that I had been with the Lord but going back home, because I have not uprooted those thorns and thistles that always stand in my way (notice the word uproot and not cut), days later am back to my old self, with an inconsistent devotion. This experience even gets more real when you read the excerpt from Christ’s Object Lessons.

“The seed sown upon stony ground finds little depth of soil. The plant springs up quickly, but the root cannot penetrate the rock to find nutriment to sustain its growth, and it soon perishes. Many who make a profession of religion are stony-ground hearers. Like the rock underlying the layer of earth, the selfishness of the natural heart underlies the soil of their good desires and aspirations. The love of self is not subdued. They have not seen the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and the heart has not been humbled under a sense of its guilt. This class may be easily convinced, and appear to be bright converts, but they have only a superficial religion.

It is not because men receive the word immediately, nor because they rejoice in it, that they fall away. As soon as Matthew heard the Saviour's call, immediately he rose up, left all, and followed Him. As soon as the divine word comes to our hearts, God desires us to receive it; and it is right to accept it with joy. "Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth." Luke 15:7. And there is joy in the soul that believes on Christ. But those who in the parable are said to receive the word immediately, do not count the cost. They do not consider what the word of God requires of them. They do not bring it face to face with all their habits of life, and yield themselves fully to its control,” COL 46.3,4.

Deep! But, there is hope… it is not God’s will that we should be he hearers who are likened to the stony or thorny ground. In fact, Inspiration records that God is more than willing to bestow such good gifts as an unbroken and consistent walk with Him. Just notice the word privilege in the passage below.

“It is the privilege and the duty of every Christian to have a rich and abundant experience in the things of God…The bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shine upon the servants of God, and they are to reflect His rays,” New Life: Revival and Beyond, p. 18, 

What! Privilege? In other words, it is a right, an entitlement for every Christian to enjoy a rich and abundant experience. However, this cannot be done by ourselves.

“But the stony-ground hearers depend upon self instead of Christ. They trust in their good works and good impulses, and are strong in their own righteousness. They are not strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Such a one "hath not root in himself"; for he is not connected with Christ,” COL 47.1.

We cannot seek to enjoy this rich and abundant experience by our own might or strength; rather a power without us can achieve this in us but we need to let Him work in our lives, we need to surrender.

“Many feel a sense of estrangement from God, a realization of their bondage to self and sin; they make efforts for reform; but they do not crucify self. They do not give themselves entirely into the hands of Christ, seeking for divine power to do His will. They are not willing to be molded after the divine similitude…Christ asks for an unreserved consecration, for undivided service,” COL 48.2,4.

So herein lies the answer to the quest for a long-term revival: surrender. The admonition is to surrender our all and let God work in us. To let go of anything and anyone that can come between us and God, then and only then can we have that long-lasting revival.