Berean Journeymen

Does God really want revival at Berean? We ponder that for a moment and then conclude, “Well, why wouldn’t He? Certainly scripture confirms his desire to see the lukewarm become hot and even the lost to be found!”

Do the believers at Berean want revival? Though possibly not unanimous, there is hardly a pause as the consensus exclaims, “Yes, we want to feel refreshed! We desire to see the Holy Spirit sweep across our lives!”

If Christ the head and his church the body are in agreement, then why does the Holy Spirit delay in reviving Berean? I can’t help but ponder two aspects to this question.

First and foremost, are our desires and God’s desire in alignment?

Let there be no doubt what is ultimately at the core of God’s desire, it is his glory. His story, which is recorded in his Word and played out through history to this very moment, is all about him. The intricacy of creation, the pageantry of the exodus, the devastation of the exile, the humility of the cross, the martyrdom of New Testament saints, our salvation and our sanctification – at the core of each of these is the common purpose for God to be glorified. So would his desire for revival at Berean be anything different? I doubt it. Yes, God desires the lukewarm to be hot, but in the end ultimately it is for his great name sake. Though his people are beneficiaries, the reason we ever become so is to glorify God.

So then, as we take pause, does our desire for revival align with God’s? Do we want to strip away all else in our cluttered lives in order to meet God as never before such that he can transform us and use us, which will ultimately glorify him? I pray that is our desire, I pray that is what we seek - his face, his glory. If we merely desire to experience hotness and experience revival for the sake of the experience, then all we seek is to satisfy ourselves and that does not glorify God. God will only bring about that which leads to him being glorified. God is sovereign, his will be done, not ours.

The second aspect, are we engaged in the fight against the enemy of our souls this week?

Whether we believe it or not, assuredly Satan is engaged in our lives. I have been battered by him over the past two months. And this week Satan has turned up the pressure, and just today my wife helped me see how blind I have been to this fact. Let us not be naïve, pursuit of genuine revival is a serious kingdom battle and much will be encountered in each of our lives. What do we think is the source of most of our recent struggles? More importantly, how will we respond?

I pray our response is to fight; to fight for God and holiness and fight against our enemy and our flesh; to fight for the hearts and souls of our spouses and children and friends. Don’t we care? Then what are we doing about it? We must do things differently. Are we pushing out all thoughts and trappings which lure us away from Christ? Are we then filling our minds with whatever is right and pure and praiseworthy? Are we humbly, desperately crying out to God to transform us such that the desires of his heart become ours, that his compassion for others becomes our compassion, that his eyes of love become ours, and that his will becomes our will?

O God, we plead for a renewed passion to see you and you glorified! Overwhelm us with a realization that you are who you say you are! Grant us an unshakeable belief in your promises and your truth! Remove the scales from our eyes; help us see you in all your power and holiness and perfection and eternal majesty! May the reality of wretchedness drop us to our knees in brokenness such that we surrender all that we have and all that we are to you. I pray for that to happen to me Lord, I pray that happens to us all.

Friends, though we desire a fresh wind and fresh fire to sweep across Berean this week, let us not lose sight that a truer test of revival will be in the weeks to come. If our on-going focus is genuinely on God and him glorified, if we are engaging in the spiritual battles of our lives, then whether God visibly, dramatically moves in our midst this week or not, we will no longer be the same church. The heart of the church, the essence of the many and not the few, will begin to show transformation.

Our vertical prayers of praise will resound and our worship will not be false. Our love for each other will be given freely and felt undeniably. Our burdens will be shared and not hidden. Our horizontal prayers will not lie just beneath the surface but will penetrate the depths of our pain. Our attitude towards those unlike ourselves will be accepting and compassionate and not judgmental. Service to the poor and the sinners in our community will become our passion. The holiness of the Father, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the sacrifice of the Son will be embraced and reflected. And unmistakably, God will be glorified.

May it be! Come Holy Spirit Come!

Over 75 men came to prayer meeting this morning. God is moving in our church in a powerful way. Men won't you join us tomorrow and the rest of the week at 0600 in the chapel as we learn how to pray the Scriptures? What a blessing it was to lift up the name of Jehovah!