Revival of Faith
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash.
What is revival? How do we experience the revival of our faith in Jesus?
Revival is a reinvigoration of our relationship with Jesus—it is a re-awakening and renewal of our faith in Jesus. Revival is hearing Jesus knock and opening the door to him and letting him into our lives.
Evangelist and author Leonard Ravenhill said, “As long as we are content to live without revival, we will."
In the Book of Revelation, Jesus spoke to the church in Laodicea saying, “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:15-16, ESV).
The church in Laodicea was prosperous in trade and they compromised their faith in Jesus for their status, security, safety, and wealth in the face of Roman rule and pagan emperor worship. The church was neither hot or cold in relation to living out their faith in Jesus. The Laodiceans were lukewarm, and were not worthy to be kept, or “swallowed”, so Jesus said that he would spew them out of his mouth.
The medium sized city of Laodicea was located six miles from the hot springs of Hierapolis. The city of Laodicea was located halfway between these hot springs of Hierapolis and the cold waters of nearby Colossae. Jesus was saying to the Laodiceans that they were living into their geographical context. Just as their water was tepid, so was their faith in him. The Laodiceans were in a lukewarm context with a lukewarm commitment to God.
The name Laodicea is also telling, and fitting, for how the church was living out their faith. The word “Lao” means people, and the word “dicea” means rule. Therefore, Laodicea means “Rule by the people.” The Laodiceans did not want to be ruled by God, they wanted to be self-ruled—“ruled by the people.”
The revival of our faith starts with the awareness of our need for God, and the desire to give up our lives for God’s life for us. If we want revival, we must listen for Jesus knocking on the door of our heart and open our lives up for Jesus to come in and to rule over our lives, instead of us trying to rule over ourselves.
In his work 'My All In All’, G. Campbell Morgan said, “We cannot organize revival, but we can set our sails to catch the wind from Heaven when God chooses to blow upon His people once again."
In this Prophetic Book of Revelation, Jesus spoke to the church at Laodicea again, saying, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20, ESV).
If we want revival, if we want intimacy with God, we must be able to hear God knock on the door of our heart, and we must be willing to let him come in.
Anglican Pastor, theologian, and author, J.I. Packer, wrote, “Revival is the visitation of God which brings to life Christians who have been sleeping and restores a deep sense of God's near presence and holiness."
God desires his people to be all in—hot. God visits his people for intimate communion and transformation. God desired intimacy and communion with his children, which leads to life change, and the ushering in of the kingdom of heaven on earth here and now—“Thy Kingdom Come, on Earth as it is in Heaven.”
Revivalist Leonard Ravenhill also proclaimed, “Any true revival can be proven by the fact that it changed the moral climate of an area or nation." And we might add, true revival can be proven by a transformed people, a transformed church, and a transformed world.
Our faith needs revival. Our lives need need revival. The church needs revival. Our nation needs revival. The world needs revival. We need a rejuvenation of our faith in Jesus. As Andy Murray said it, “There is need of a great revival of spiritual life, of truly fervent devotion to our Lord Jesus, of entire consecration to His service."
As the Gospel of Matthew states it, we are to, “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Matthew 3:8, ESV).
May we listen for Jesus knocking on the door of our heart, and may we open the door to Jesus, so that he will come into our lives in intimate communion with us, and so that we will be transformed.
A Prayer of Self-Dedication, by William Temple: “Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you; and then use us, we pray, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.” (#73., Book of Common Prayer, 2019).
Begin the year with a #dailydevotional. I will be creating a #devotional book for each month, a devotional for every day of the year, and offering them for #free by subscribing. Get a link to #Grow365: #February—A #Daily Devotional here: https://www.robbiepruitt.com.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash.
