The plea for revival has been a periodic petition for believers – and for the church – throughout history.
Many episodes in our Hebrew Scriptures begin with the words: The voice of the Lord had not been heard in the land for a long time.
There are times when God’s chosen people are overwhelmed by events over which they have no control,
discouraged by what has been happening to their faith community,
despondent over the “quality” of life they found themselves living in –
and the cry is quite a natural one – and a universal one.
I dare say no one in this room has never uttered the thought, if not the exact words:
Where are you Lord?
Why me?
Why us?
Like the first time you fell and scraped your knee and ran to your mother to make it better, we openingly, or secretly, mouth the words: Make it better, Lord.
Intervene in our lives, Lord, and make things the way they used to be again.
Revive us, Lord!
Change the way things are, and make it all better.
But, you know, curiously, what they came to find out thousands of years ago,
and what has confirmed every time the cry goes out,
and what scientists can now prove,
revival – change – when it comes, does not come from an outside force –
revival is always something that happens within.
Revive us, Lord! Is an easy prayer to make.
But, personal revival – personal change – personal rejuvenation – personal re-creation – begins in our own self, our own soul.
And, corporate revival – revival of the faith community – revival of a church – begins in our personal selves, our personal souls.
Personal change leads to corporate change.
Personal revival leads to corporate revival.
Personal growth leads to corporate growth.
Personal purpose, personal vision
leads to corporate purpose and corporate vision.
Fortunately for each of us, and fortunately for our church, there are some specific things we can do to bring about revival,
that can bring about rejuvenation,
that can bring about re-creation.
The first thing each of can do to ensure revival to happen is to commit to pray for it to happen.
Like the Psalmist, pray for revival to happen –
for your church,
and for your self.
Pray for revival three times a day.
(There is something purposeful in praying three times a day,
praying three times a day actually changes reality,
praying three times a day actually changes the way your brain sees things.)
Years ago, Norman Vincent Peale enabled countless personal and corporate revivals with the words:
"Change your thoughts and you change your world."
In our day and time, the preacher and personal motivator from Texas, Zig Ziglar, tells us that when we stop our stinkin’ thinkin’
reality actually changes for us and it makes a difference in how we see and approach the whole world around us.
Research being done at the University of Pennsylvania is showing that time and time again,
a person can change their reality by changing their belief system. (Those are my words, not the researchers.)
You can use the word pretend,
or you can use the word play-like,
or you can use the words “Live as though what you wish to happen has already happened,”
and more often than not, what you wished to happen happens,
what you envisioned becomes reality.
So, revival can happen here –
revival can happen to you –
revival can happen to this church –
by 1. Praying for it to happen three times a day.
2. Getting rid of all stinkin’ thinkin’ .
And,
3. Think about how your life could be different if you could get rejuvenated, and revitalized, and reconstituted, and revived.
Think about how your church could be different if we could get rejuvenated, and revitalized, and reconstituted, and revived.
And then try to live your life as though revival has happened –
make personal and family decisions as though revival has happened –
and let us approach our church and its business as though revival has happened.
The history of our faith, and the results of human behavior research has shown time and time again,
we receive what we expect.
We receive what we expect.
One the first lessons of life most of us have learned – and learned well, by the way – is to avoid disappointment, don’t expect very much.
And, the prophecy is fulfilled more often than not.
We receive what we expect.
If we are always expecting the worse to happen, it usually does –
especially when we think it couldn’t get any worse – and just when we think it couldn’t get any worse, it always does, doesn’t it?
But, researchers show us that the other is just as true.
When you look for the best – when you expect good things to happen – you get what you expect.
When you are always looking for the silver lining, you find it.
There is scientific evidence behind Norman Vincent Peale’s assertion: "Change your thoughts and you change your world."
You see part and parcel to our historical faith is the basic belief that faithful people live enthused lives.
Again, the very word enthused means God-filled.
Faithful people are enthused – almost by definition.
It is basic to Christianity that as believers, we are enthused – we are God-filled – God dwells in us – we are a child of God – God lives in us – our bodies are God’s temples.
So now, if you know you are enthused,
if you live as though you are enthused,
you see the world around you in a different way.
If you believe,
if you know,
that you are a child of God everything changes.
You and I are children of God – and, yes, endowed with certain rights and benefits and privileges.
And, the person sitting next to you is child of God, too.
And the person in the car ahead of you is a child of God, too.
And the person in the check out line is a child of God, too.
And the person taking a nap on the street is a child of God, too.
And the person who is dying a miserable death because of no access to adequate health care, is a child of God, too.
And the person sitting in prison is a child of God, too.
And the people sitting at the next table in the restaurant are children of God too.
And it goes on and on, all God’s children are we.
And as people of faith, we are enthused, yes, and we have certain responsibilities –
responsibilities illustrated by stories and parables Jesus told –
you remember some of them:
the sermon on the mount,
the story about the good Samaritan,
the last judgement.
The Gospel of Luke tells us about a Jesus that is very clear about our life-purpose.
Here, Jesus gives us the answers for our final exam.
To our routinized ears it is shocking to hear that in the end, when all is said and done,
it doesn’t matter how many sermons you may have heard,
it doesn’t matter how many times you have read the Bible cover to cover,
it doesn’t matter how faithful your prayers have been.
What does matter is whether you get it or not –
whether the word of God has gotten through to you or not –
whether you live here and now in these times as though the Kingdom of God had come –
whether you believe yourself to be a child of God,
whether you understand yourself to be enthused.
For if you do believe yourself to be enthused – a child of God –
you will stop and help the injured,
the destitute,
the powerless,
the poor,
the lonely,
the sick. . . .
This is what enthused people do.
People that do these things often life in a different world than we do, don’t they?
They see things differently.
We even make up language to describe people behaving in such ways.
But, that’s what enthused people do.
That’s what Jesus said.
That’s what our Bible gives witness to.
That’s what revived believers do.
That’s what rejuvenated believers do.
That’s what revived churches do.
That’s what rejuvenated churches do.
Revive us, Lord!
Lets all pray the prayer.
Lets start now.
What’s the prayer? Revive us, Lord!
Pray it over and over again: three times a day.
When we do, reality will begin to change for us.
Get rid of stinkin’ thinkin’ and change the way you think.
And start living as though you are revived,
live as though you are rejuvenated,
live as though you are resuscitated.
And you will know a new life,
a new reality,
in which you know yourself to be enthused –
a child of God.
Revive us, Lord!
So your people can dance and sing!
Amen.
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