Here's some great thoughts from Chapter 14 of
J.D. Greear's book (a great book for your 2015 wish list):
Revival:
When the Holy Spirit Moves in Power
Tim Keller says a revival is “the
intensification of the normal operations of the Holy Spirit (conviction of sin,
regeneration and sanctification, assurance of salvation) through the ordinary
means of grace (preaching the Word, prayer, etc.).” In an awakening, the Spirit of God does not
typically do a “new” thing; he simply pours great power upon the “normal”
things faithful Christians are already doing. Prayers become more intense ;
worship becomes more joyous; repentance becomes more sorrowful; and the preached
Word yields greater effect. The Spirit of God multiplies the effectiveness of
our “normal” work of seed-planting, bringing a bountiful harvest. And he does
more in a moment than we can accomplish in a lifetime.
The Lord’s Arm Is Not Shortened
Do you believe God is willing to send such
an outpouring today? The prophet Isaiah said, The arm of the LORD is not too
short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. (Isa. 59: 1) “The Lord’s arm is
not too short.” That means God is no less powerful to save today than he was in
the past. The same Spirit who moved in Nineveh and in the Great Awakening still
fills the church today. The same power that brought Jesus back from the dead
still animates our preaching. People are not “more spiritually dead” today than
they were in the days of Jonah or the days of the Great Awakening . There are
no degrees of deadness, or any such thing as “mostly dead” (apologies to The
Princess Bride). Every conversion to Christ requires the same, glorious miracle
of resurrection, and God has not lost his ability to raise the dead. We’ve
simply lost confidence that he will do it on a large scale.
“Nor his ear too dull.” This means that God
is not less compassionate today than he was when he turned the murderous,
cruel, idol-worshiping Ninevites into humble God-seekers, or when his Spirit
swept through Jerusalem, gathering the same people who had crucified him into
his first church. God delights in showing great mercy — always has, always
will. He is slow to anger, abounding in mercy. He still looks at the crowd and
has “compassion for them because they are weary and scattered, like sheep
without a shepherd” (Matt. 9: 36).
Isaiah continues, Your iniquities have
separated you from your God. (Isa. 59: 2) It is we, Isaiah says, who have
changed, not God. Our sins keep us from God’s power, not God’s willingness. And
might the primary sin of the church be refusing to believe that God really does
not desire that any should perish, and that all should come to repentance? Is
there any sin greater than unbelief? Have we blasphemed God by being unwilling
to believe he is as merciful as the cross tells us that he is?
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1. Greear, J.D. (2014-11-04). Jesus,
Continued…: Why the Spirit Inside You is Better than Jesus Beside You (pp.
196-197). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
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