[b]Where is the Revival?[i]by Joshua Goodling
A revival is when God's people meet God's conditions for God's blessing. Charles Finney once said; "A revival is nothing else than a believer's new beginning of obedience to God." The Word of God tells us; "If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (II Chronicles 7:14)
Many people today have lost the meaning of real revival. We drive past many a church that has posted a large sign out front reading; "Come Join Us For Our Annual Revival!". But the sad truth is, most of these churches have no idea what a true revival is. Pastors tell us to go out and bring in all the unsaved people so we can have a revival, but how can anyone who has never been saved be revived? A revival can only be experienced by Christians. Sure, people will be saved as a result of a real revival, but that is not the revival.
Years ago God gave a great revival to the Welsh people who got right with God and with one another. People coming into the town where the revival was happening would inquire of a policeman, "Where is the revival?" The policemen would point to their hearts and reply; "Ah, the revival is here!" That is exactly where a revival must start -- in the heart. Not until God's children sincerely pray, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me," will se have that TRUE experience of a real revival.
What America needs today is REAL REVIVAL! A time where Christians see the need in their own hearts and lives and decide to do something about it. So, why are we not seeing a revival today? What is hindering revival in America?
Unconfessed sin in Christian's lives is hindering revival. Psalm 66:18 says; "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." The Bible also says that our iniquities have separated us from God. Too many Christians today are content to live in sin and not be the least bit concerned about it. Many Christians today have become so cold and backslidden, that what the Bible clearly calls sin, the do not consider to be sin. The world has steadily gotten worse, and Christians have been satisfied to follow right along behind it.
In order to experience a revival today, most Christians would have to make some drastic changes in the way they live. Many would have to stop going to places they frequently go to. Many would have to get rid of some close friends. Many would have to stop watching some of their favorite television shows and movies. They would have to quit listening to that so-called "Christian" music. The sad part is, the majority of Christians today are not willing to do that. However, until they do…America will NEVER see revival.
The Bible clearly commands us to "…come out from among them and be ye separate…" But we are content to live in sin and let the world slide past us into hell. The way many Christians live today, it is impossible to distinguish them from the world.
This leads to a second hindrance to revival. That hindrance is the attitude of selfishness. We live in an I…Me…Mine society. Everyone, including most Christians, is looking out for good old number one, SELF! "Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." (James 4:3) The "…Lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life…" are destroying more Christians today than anything else. Instead of being concerned about others, we only care about ourselves. We spend all our time worrying about where our next meal is coming from, when our next promotion will be, where we stand in the financial community, etc., instead of surrendering all that to God. God has promised to meet our EVERY need if we only allow Him to and trust Him completely. So, instead of worrying about self, be concerned about others, and pray about a nation crippling with the disease of sin, and about to fall
flat. Pray about lives doomed to spend eternity without Christ. Get your own life right and be a testimony of what a Christian is supposed to be.
Then, a third hindrance to revival, and perhaps the biggest, is pride. Pride in the human heart leads only to total destruction. The main reason we don’t have a revival in America is because the majority of Christians who need to get right with God and need to make drastic changes in their lives are too proud to admit it. Remember, pride is what destroyed Lucifer and sent him on the road to destruction and hell.
We hear on the news almost daily now about someone going on a rampage and shooting and killing people, and we think; "How could anyone do that?" But, there is nothing worse than a man who destroys his family, destroys his church, and dooms his community to hell because he is too proud to admit he needs to get right with God. America will die and burn in hell because of Christians who are too proud to be totally
surrendered to God, to proud to give up their sins, and to proud to pay the "price" for REVIVAL! If we are ever going to experience real revival, we need to swallow our pride before it swallows us!
Dr. Vance Havner has aptly described the present generation of Christians this way; "We are a generation of proud fussy little Christians -- experts but not examples. We know too much, or we think we do. We have heard all the preachers and read all the books. It is hard these days to be converted and become like little children. We want to be thought philosophers and scholars -- brilliant but not childlike. So we miss the secrets God has hidden from the wise and revealed unto babes. How often, even among the saints, does some simple soul learn the deeper things of God and press through to heaven's best while 'the wise and the prudent' utterly miss them."
A fourth hindrance to revival is that of unresolved conflicts between Christians. In Matthew 5:23 and 24, Jesus Christ stresses the importance of being right with our fellow believers. One of the big problems in Christian circles today are the divisions and fighting amongst them. We need to be fighting Satan and Sin! Not be fighting people. Our battle is against the demons and the workers of iniquity, not against other Christians. The Bible says; "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath." Yet Christians have allowed many a sun to go down, and they are still fighting and feuding with other Christians. More churches have been split, and more lives have been ruined because Christians got mad at each other than by anything else. Now, if another Christian acts in ways contrary to the Word of God, we SHOULD separate with them and not fellowship with them until they get right, but we are not to be fighting with them and allow our flesh to become a stumbling block between them and us. The Bible clearly explains how to resolve conflicts with fellow believers, and the reason there are so many problems in churches and among Christians today is plainly unresolved conflicts. We as Christians can never be right with God until we are also right with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We expect God to forgive us of our sins and wrong doings, but we absolutely refuse to forgive others. He who cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he himself must one day pass. If we cannot forgive and forget, we will not be forgiven by God. "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." (Mark 11:25, 26) In order for America to have a revival, there is going to have to be a lot of forgiving and forgetting.
Another sad hindrance to revival is the lack of compassion most Christians today are plagued with. To be brutally honest, many Christians today don't care if America dies, or at least they don't act like they care. This is why the average Christian has never won a single soul to Jesus Christ. When pastors announce the weekly soul-winning and visitation program, only 2% of the church membership even bothers to show up. When the person who works next to you tells you someone in their family has died or is sick, you say; "Sorry to hear that!" instead of taking the time to share with them how they might be prepared to spend eternity in heaven. Not only do Christians not have compassion for the lost, they also do not have compassion for fellow Christians who need a revival in their lives as well. If we do not care that Christians need a revival, how can we ever have a revival in our own lives? We cannot help to heal the wounds that we cannot feel! How can we ever help if we don't even notice that others are hurting? It is not a chore for us the love the whole world, the only "chore" is for us to love our neighbor. We boast and say we are concerned about the lost, but we never get concerned about those we work with, those we live near, and those we come in contact with each and every day. Jesus commanded us to start first at Jerusalem (our home town), then to go to the rest of the world. How can we ever have a revival if we
don't care?
These hindrances are what is keeping America from having a genuine revival. Unless we get to work in our individual lives and remove the hindrances, America will not see a revival.