Revival!

“For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” Isaiah 44:3

This is God talking. Revival is God’s idea--not man’s. Man cannot choose the time, the place, or the instrument. But He does give man the burden to pray. The other necessary component--desperation. See what God is doing in a small town in West Virginia. May God give us all the burden to pray with desperation!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=moP46qpI0So&autoplay=1

 

When Evil is Good

“What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever. What sorrow for those who are heroes at drinking wine and boast about all the alcohol they can hold. They take bribes to let the wicked go free, and they punish the innocent. Therefore, just as fire licks up stubble and dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will rot and their flowers wither. For they have rejected the law of the LORD of Heaven's Armies; they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 5:20-24

These words were spoken through the prophet Isaiah to the people of Judah. God had done everything to bless His people--they were His vineyard, planted “on a rich and fertile hill”. God expected a harvest of sweet grapes but “the grapes that grew were bitter.”

It's hard to imagine how Israel could turn their back on a God that loved them and delighted in blessing them. Or is it? Isaiah says that they rejected the law of the Lord and despised His Word. They became wise in their own eyes, calling evil good, and good evil. They let the wicked go free and punished the innocent. Does this sound familiar? Our country, founded on God’s law, is no better. Once we honored God, now it may soon be a crime to mention His Name. There were consequences for Israel's behavior-- there will be consequences for America. If there was ever a time to pray for revival, it would be now.

 

Habakkuk's Prayer

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet...

“LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” Habakkuk 3:1-2

The prophet Habakkuk could not understand why God allowed such evil to thrive among the people of Judah. He pleaded with God to act, but when God revealed His plan for His people, it was not at all what Habakkuk had in mind. God would use the cruel and evil Babylonians to take Judah captive, in order to turn their hearts back to Him. Habakkuk wanted to know this: How could a Righteous God use evil to cure evil?

Our God cannot, and will not, be put in a box. We ask for revival, and we have our own ideas as to how God might answer that prayer--nothing too drastic--a mild chastening should do. But our God knows exactly what it will take to bring us to our knees, to turn our hearts back to Him. He has every resource available to Him--even the most evil people on earth--and He will use them if that is what it takes.

So how do we pray for our nation--our world, knowing that the answer will most likely be painful? Pray that God will do something amazing. And then pray like Habakkuk: “LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.”

 

Habakkuk's Cry

The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.

“How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.”

"Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." Habakkuk 1:1-5

Have you been praying for revival? For your church, for your city, for your country, for the world? Do you think that this could possibly be the most evil, most corrupt time in human history? Does it seem as if God has turned a deaf ear to your prayers? Meet the prophet Habakkuk. His people had turned away from God, all the public officials were corrupt--injustice and corruption were rampant. Destruction and violence were a part of everyday life. Habakkuk had been asking God to intervene, yet there was no evidence that God had even heard his prayers. This time, however, God responds to His cry directly and assures Habakkuk that He has been working on a surprising plan, one that the prophet would never have imagined.

It's easy, when nothing seems to be happening, for us to imagine that God is not at work. When those thoughts start to creep in, remember the prophet Habakkuk. God may not speak to us directly, but don't stop praying. God is not on our timetable--He is engineering circumstances that will, most likely, surprise us all. In the meantime, He is teaching us the lessons of trust, patience, and perseverance.

 

Is Our God Too Small?

“Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish. I will call a swift bird of prey from the east—a leader from a distant land to come and do my bidding. I have said what I would do, and I will do it.” Isaiah 46:9-11

On my list of books to read is one called Your God is Too Small by J.B. Phillips. The title really gets my attention. In our minds, we know that our God is the Creator of the earth and everything in it--all He did was speak and our world was established. But does this knowledge translate into faith in our daily lives? Do we believe that He can change hearts that are not just cold, but hostile towards Him? Can He bring revival to our corrupt and evil world? Can He bring revival in me? The answer, of course is “yes”. As it says in these verses from Isaiah 46, “I do whatever I wish”. I think that one thing that keeps God too small in our lives is the idea of a “personal God”. Not that He isn't personal--He knows the very hairs on our head and the number of our days on earth. He cares about even one of His sheep that goes astray, and pursues it. But I think it is easy to embrace this attribute of God, and really forget the magnitude and majesty of God. Our culture today encourages us to focus on ourselves. It's all about me--right? Well--me and God! Our view of God becomes too narrow when we only consider how He is at work in our own lives, or even the lives of those we are closest to. As these verses from Isaiah remind us, God has plans for the whole world, not just our little corner of it. Men and birds of prey do His bidding. The current events worldwide are not random--they are engineered by the Almighty God of the Universe. He is in Africa, Brasil, Indonesia and India. He is the God of China, Russia and Iran, and He is at work in those places just as He is here. He is even using cruelty and persecution to bring about revival in those parts of the world. He is a big God and He is moving. Let’s not miss it!