Revival - Part 1: What is Revival?

“Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence”. (Isaiah 64:1)

“Will thou not revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee?” (Psalm 85:6
These verses contain the very essence of revival, God does wonderful things, and as he draws near to his people they rejoice in his presence. However, there is no neat definition of revival that enables us to state simply what it is or what it is not, and the best that can be done is to describe it as it has appeared down through the centuries.
However, it is first of all necessary to clear up some misunderstandings about revival that have given it something of a bad name in some quarters. Revival is not something that can be organised by a church on a particular date. However successful such meetings may be they have little impact on the outside world. In revival whole towns, cities and countries are affected.
Revival is not a successful campaign involving mass advertising, huge choirs and a famous evangelist. When George Whitefield preached in 1739 at Kennington Common, during the Great Evangelical Revival, over 30,000 people gathered without the use of such means.
Revival is to be distinguished from so called "phenomena" that have sometimes been associated with it. These have included fainting, excitement, visions, and reported miracles. These things have caused divisions and bitter debate among Christians both at the time of revival and later. John Wesley believed that they were the marks of a work of the Holy Spirit. Charles Wesley disapproved of such matters and discouraged them in his meetings. Jonathan Edwards apologised for them. A feature of revivals is their great variety, some being completely free from phenomena, others being famous because of them. Whatever these strange things may be they are not essential to revival.
Finally, revival is not a short cut to a successful church or an excuse to opt out of the means that God expects us to use day by day to take the message of the Gospel to the lost. Revival is unusual and special, a glorious work of God alone that is additional to the ordinary means that he uses to refresh his people and gather the church.

Simeon

Read Luke 2:25-35

Although the events in this passage take place just after the birth of Jesus they illustrate very clearly why Jesus came. In our reading we learned that Simeon was 'just, devout', that he was 'waiting for the Consolation of Israel’, and that 'the Holy Spirit was upon him.' God had graciously promised that he would see Christ before he died.

In the old time the Holy Spirit came upon a man for a brief period only. Here it would seem that Simeon had a rare pre-Pentecost experience of the abiding presence of the Spirit. So let us consider Simeon under three headings.

1. Simeon the seeker
2. Simeon the finder
3. Simeon at peace with God

Simeon the seeker
We find Simeon in a state of anxious expectancy. Three characteristics of Old Testament piety are found in the man Simeon. He is described as ‘Just’ that is in regard to his relations and bearing before God and man. He is ‘devout’ (that is he fears God) as opposed to the boastful self-righteousness of Pharisaism. Lastly he is ‘waiting’ (longing expectantly) for the fulfilment of the great promise of the coming of ‘the Consolation of Israel’.

Note he expected to find. Had he heard the story that was rumoured by the shepherds? Strange goings on in the Bethlehem hills. The Temple courts would be buzzing with conjecture as to what was happening. Could this be the time?

Some think Simeon was a priest, although there is no direct evidence that he was, some rate the probability high. Even according him the rank of president of the Sanhedrin. What is not in dispute is that he was evidently well known both in the city and in the Temple, and that he was a deeply religious man who knew the scriptures well.

If he was indeed a priest, he contrasts starkly with the rank and file priests, he was clearly fully aware of the scriptures concerning Messiah, and he was waiting for His coming.

Whilst many of the other priests had more interest in ceremony and ritual. Though they taught that Messiah was to come - they were not looking for Him - nor were they expecting Him - but Simeon was. Simeon belonged to the few who at that time were like Anna looking for 'redemption in Jerusalem (v38). Joseph of Arimathea was another (Mark15:43). The promise of God is, if we seek Him with all of our heart we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13).

Many people make the excuse that they are too busy. Simeon would have been extremely busy as a priest yet he was looking, watching for Messiah. Nor did he allow every day events to crowd out his cherished hope, as he received and assisted the worshippers with their offerings etc. Uppermost in his mind would be the question, ‘Would today be the day?’

Simeon the finder
Eventually patience is rewarded. For a long while he had clung to God’s promise to him. How long he waited we are not told, nor do we know his age. It is assumed he was an old man by the manner of his prayer.

Inconspicuous in the crowds thronging the temple precincts are - Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus. But led by the Spirit, Simeon is drawn to the infant Jesus. Here we may say that when the Spirit of God is at work in our lives to reveal Christ to us, we find His overtures become increasingly irresistible as we are drawn closer to Him.

  At last with the Christ child in his arms, The Spirit reveals to Simeon this babe is the Christ. What joy, akin to holding ones own heir for the first time. God has kept His promise. This is the Christ, this is God’s salvation. To the true seeker there comes the time when he finds, thus realising this is it, this is what I have been seeking. I have found it. My seeking is ended. Then the true seeker acknowledges that it is God who has been faithful to His promise, He has provided the answer, Thus it is ‘Your salvation’ (v30) which, ‘You have prepared’ (v31).

Also the true finder is one who identifies with the thing found. Simian recognises this child is the fulfilment of Gods word to him. And he acknowledges the fact My eyes have seen Thy salvation. Thus Simian links himself with Gods salvation. Making it personal to himself. We too must: First, recognise that salvation is from God. Secondly, that we must accept that salvation for ourselves.

Simian also sees beyond himself, sees that God has prepared salvation for all peoples, ....the Gentiles, .....and Your people Israel (vv.31-32). Edersheim comments in The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, ‘With this Infant in his arms, it was as if he stood on the mountain-height of prophetic vision, and watched the golden beams of sunrise far away over the isles of the Gentiles, and then gathering their full glow over his own beloved land and people.’ Simeon was well ahead of most in his day - as he envisaged God’s salvation spreading as a light to the Gentiles. There are few Jews who today would go this far.

Simeon at peace with God
When having sought for God we find Him and identify with Him, - We have peace with God. Therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ’. (5:1)

No wonder Simeon could now say: 'Lord, You are now letting Your servant depart in peace'. Your word has been fulfilled, my soul is at peace. The antithesis of peace is enmity: '..the carnal mind is enmity against Christ’ (Romans 8:7), but Christ 'Himself is our peace' (Ephesians 2:14), having made a way back to God for us by His death upon the Cross.

To recognise the Christ child, to identify with Him, to accept Him, is to accept God’s salvation making peace with God through Jesus Christ. This is what Simeon did here. Simeon by the aid of the Holy Spirit recognised 'Gods salvation', and acknowledged a personal promise fulfilled.

Today we still need the aid of the Holy Spirit to enable us to find Christ for ourselves and to accept the personal salvation He offers. But we have Gods promise that when we seek Him with all of our hearts we shall find Him. Simeon found Him that first Christmas long ago.

May you find Him for yourself as your Saviour this Christmas time.

Peace at Christmas

Have you done your Christmas shopping yet? The countdown to the big day is well under way, and to the delight of the retailers, we are constantly reminded how many shopping days there are still to go. Those same retailers have been enticing us with their special Christmas television adverts too. This year’s offering from John Lewis has drawn lots of attention with its cute little boy and even cuter penguin, but if anything, perhaps the Sainsbury’s commercial has caused more conversation, marking as it does the centenary of the Christmas Day truce in the beginning of World War I.

Made in conjunction with the Royal British Legion it is based upon the football match that took place between British and German soldiers in ‘no-man’s land’ on Christmas Day in 1914. Though there would be a far more important football match between the English and the Germans fifty years later, the Christmas Day game has gone down in history. Amidst all the carnage of war, especially that particular war, the idea that men could put down their guns and share an hour in their common humanity has always been inspirational. This retailer is hoping the story inspires us to part with our cash!

The first Christmas, the real Christmas story, is also about peace breaking into war. The incarnation of the Son of God took place in a time of military upheaval too, as the Roman Empire sought to establish its stranglehold on the known world by imposing the tax and census which took Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem. There, amidst poverty and squalor, a baby was born, a real helpless baby, but One who was also ‘Mighty God’ (Isa 9:6). With his birth, and with his life, death and resurrection, human history changes completely. Two millennia later we are still celebrating His birth.

One of the other titles given to the baby Jesus by Isaiah seven centuries before was ‘Prince of Peace’. That reflects the reason why He came into the world. The Bible tells us that you and I are enemies of a holy God. That is because of our sin – the things that we say, think and do that are not perfect in God’s evaluation. Because we are sinners, a state of enmity exists between God and us. That enmity has consequences far worse than those when countries fall out with each other. It means we will be eternally separated from God, and shut out of Heaven.

Jesus came into this war-torn world to reconcile God to man. He brought peace by living a life of perfect obedience to God’s law, the life that we cannot live. That life, which was spent preaching the good news of the Kingdom, healing the sick, and transforming the lives of individuals, was snuffed out as He was taken by wicked hands and crucified on a cross outside of Jerusalem. But that death was God’s plan. It was Christ’s innocent blood which pays the price for our redemption. God’s charge on us is paid in full by Him. We can now be at peace with God. That peace doesn’t just last for a day, as it did in 1914, but for eternity.

Lesson from a Spider

It’s that time of the year again when our homes play host to some of God’s most interesting creatures. With the colder autumn evenings, they are attracted by the warmth of our houses and so we find them in the bath or, worse still, the bed. Spiders! Love them or hate them they’re here again. This year’s weather, the experts are telling us, has been ideal for these arachnids, and so not only are they more numerous than normal, but also larger! Thanks to ‘global warming’, we are told, one or two ‘foreign spiders’ are taking root in the UK, and although they are not venomous like the ones you might find in Australia, one or two people have been hospitalised following a nasty bite. Something to think about as you clobber the next big one you see with your slipper!

But, hang on a minute! The Bible speaks to us about spiders in more than one place, so perhaps we should learn from them before we remove them, by fair means or foul, from our houses. In Job, a book that is very rich in its descriptions of the animal kingdom, we are warned that the “hope of the hypocrite”, and “the paths of all who forget God” are like “a spider’s web” (Job 8:14). There are few things more beautiful on an autumn morning than seeing a spider’s web in the garden, particularly with frosty dew on it. But put your hand on it and it will collapse. Beautiful but fragile! How right the book of Job is. And yet many people are just like that. They live their lives as though God doesn’t exist, and even if they pay lip-service to God, their lives show that it is just hypocrisy. Though their lives might have an outward beauty, on the Day of Judgement they will be lost. Is that how it is with you?

Another Old Testament book that constantly encourages us to learn lessons from God’s creatures is Proverbs. That’s not surprising because we know that not only was its author, Solomon, blessed with the gift of great wisdom (1 Kings 3:1-15), but he was an expert on all living creatures (1 Kings 4:32-34). In Proverbs 30:24-28, he points us to four things “which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise”. One of those is the spider, about which Solomon says “The spider skillfully grasps with his hand, and it is in kings’ palaces” (Prov. 30:28).

The great J C Ryle, writing to children more than a hundred years ago, said this about that verse; “The spider creeps into grand houses. And there she spins her web. There seems no keeping her out. Your mother comes and brushes the web away. The spider sets to work at once, and makes it again new. No insect is so persevering as the spider. She does her work over and over again. She will not give up! Now I want you to make the spider your pattern about your souls. I want you, like the spider, to persevere in sticking to what is good. I would like you to determine that you will never give up. I want you to keep on trying not to do what is evil—and trying always to do what is good, and pleasing to God.”

So put that slipper down and think again!

Floral Display

People often remark about how attractive the chapel looks when you turn into Lancaster Road on a winter Sunday evening. The lights in the windows of the church building stand out against the darkness in an inviting way that is very pleasing on the eye. But now the view of the chapel in the day time has been improved too. The large area of wild flowers, on the green next to the chapel, has suddenly become a blaze of colour, enhancing the bare patch that was there before. What we thought was just a ruse to give the council less grass to mow (!) looks like a great idea after all. The hope is that in time they will also attract butterflies and bees. There, and all over New Inn, these wild flower beds have come to life and look beautiful.

They are a good thing to have in our mind as we enter the chapel for worship too. There are some Bible verses that should come to our mind as we approach the chapel, see them, and prepare for the great privilege ahead of us. The one that came first to my mind was what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount; “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field … will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith” (Matt. 6:28-30).

Sometimes, on a Sunday, our thoughts can be filled with the concerns of the week that has just ended, or our minds can be distracted by worries relating to the week just beginning. As we come to church we are reminded that we are coming to a Heavenly Father to whom we are precious, and to whom we can bring all our cares and worries. He will provide all our needs, and our trust should be fully in Him.

But perhaps there is another part of the Bible which is even more helpful to remember as we see those wild flowers on the way to worship. Isaiah tells us; “All flesh is as grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:6-8).

As beautiful as these flowers are, we know that they will not be there for long. They will eventually fade and fall away. That was even truer in Israel where the fierce Mediterranean sun meant they had a short life expectancy. Here they are more likely to be spoilt by the rain! But either way, we have to enjoy them while we can. Whether we like it or not, those flowers should remind us of our own mortality. We are like the wild flowers - here for just a short time. But there are some things that are eternal and one of those is the word of God that we come to chapel to hear. It offers us eternal life through the same Jesus who preached about the lilies of the field. We can trust Him not just for the worries of this life, but for eternity. Have you done that?