The Personal Revival I am Looking for by David Nelson

Posted: 2007-02-03 17:38:31

THE PERSONAL REVIVAL I AM LOOKING FOR (which also leads to corporate revival)    2-20-07

What is your focus? If you were looking through a binoculars at some distant thing, it may be a tree, a bird, a deer, words on a sign that you want to see more clearly? To focus is to zero in and look more carefully at one thing of interest and not everything in the scene.

Regarding our walk with the Lord there are many activities each week that we could engage in but are they hitting the nail on the head, hitting the center of the target, and really helping us get closer to the Lord?

Some people may be more focused on sermons, books, music tapes, “fellowship,” music concerts, worship meetings, seminars and conventions, etc. All these can help us walk closer to the Lord and know Him better but what is our focus? If there were to be a revival would it be more sermons, more worship meetings, more miracles, more things to read or listen to? Or will revival be more fire in our hearts for God, tasting more of God, a closer walk with Him, and getting together with others as they share the fire they are gaining in their daily walks? The main point is what is our focus? Where is our walk with the Lord and where is our relationship with the Lord in all we are doing? Do we even know for sure what intimacy with the Lord is?

I choose to become an expert at knowing the Lord, and all that I do is secondary unless it enhances that one thing. I want to pursue that one thing of knowing the Lord till it bears fruit. Hopefully the fruit of this walk with the Lord will lead to loving people (getting them closer to the Lord), godly character, answered prayers, some big miracles, some small (that only we and the Lord see), but that it all leads to touching people’s lives forever.

The revival I want is passion and fire in my heart, my love increasing and discovering more of His love for me. Also His love for others increasing in me, to pursue them for the Lord, that they might love Him too. This is a very worthy focus. What is the purpose of all the miracles, knowledge gained, more money and prosperity and things, did these draw us and others nearer to Him? I believe He is calling us into a relationship where we want only His will, a trust relationship that doesn’t depend on our immediate satisfaction, our convenience or comfort, but that looks to Him with trust and love whether we have or have not (or receive when we want).

How important is this focus on relationship? I believe it is very important to the Lord, in fact, it is the most important thing to Him. The Lord is desiring sons and daughters who are prepared and ready to be with Him for eternity. From the very beginning of our walk with Him when we got saved it was His desire to make us more and more able to fellowship with Him. So He takes us as children and wants to make us more and more holy as He is holy and He must train us in His ways so that we can know Him better. Hebrews 12:7-14 says that we must receive God’s chastening and correction as His Spirit speaks to us and that He is dealing with us as sons, for He chastens all His sons. If you be without chastening you are not a son of the Lord. He is chastening us so that we will become partakers more and more of His holiness. The path is hard sometimes as He trains us but if we are trained and go into the right ways as He leads us we will yield the fruit of righteousness in our lives. So, follow peace and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. (pursue, strive, make every effort to be holy as He leads you).

BE READY FOR HIS COMING

Matthew 24:11-13 says, Much deception shall arise in the last days and the love of many will grow cold but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. You must watch, keep awake, keep praying, for you know not the hour your Lord comes. You must be ready. Matt. 25:1-13, Be ready, be awake, have oil in your lamps, hear when he calls at midnight, go out to meet him, those who were ready went in to the marriage and the door was shut. Matt. 25:31-46, The righteous who learned to help the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, clothed the naked, visited the sick and those in prison or welcomed the stranger (even the least of the brethren) because they were changed to have the Lord’s character and because they followed as the Spirit led and had love and compassion like the Lord. These are the ones at the right hand of the Lord who will enter into His eternal life and His heaven but the others who were not like this shall be sent away into eternal punishment.

It is paramount that we become holy and that we are ready for the Lord at the end of our walk with Him (whether that be when we are called home to be with the Lord or when He comes). Let me give this illustration: if you are being changed to walk closer to the Lord is it not true that certain TV programs, books, time spent in various pursuits no longer appeal to you or that they are now distasteful to you or you know that they are bad for your spiritual health (or not really helping you)? Are there not people that you cannot fellowship with very well because they do not talk about the Lord or they talk about distasteful things, is it hard to be close to them or intimate with them spiritually? It is not that you don’t love them or want to help them to know the Lord or make every effort to help them to be saved (or they may be Christians who need to get to know the Lord better). But it is difficult having sweet communion with them in the Lord until they know Him or until we can help them get a little closer to the Lord. Well, it is the same with the Lord himself. He is pure and holy and He has difficulty communing with us in our condition. We must know Him better and be trained in His ways. The more we become like Him the sweeter our fellowship with Him becomes. This is what He desires. Everything we do and everything He does has this one goal, to save us so that we can begin to fellowship with Him and then to change us so that we can walk closer and closer to Him.

So, (1) sermons, books, music, fellowship with others, meetings and/or (2) intimate relationship with the Lord? Can we have both? Is there a difference between the two? What is our focus, the things we do (“spiritual activities”) or our relationship with Him? We can have both if our activities are helping and strengthening our relationship with Him.

Here is what to do to understand intimacy with the Lord better. Seek His face. Seek His presence. Seek to find Him and love Him with all your heart and strength. When you come to know His voice and taste of Him and His presence you will know the difference between “activities” and finding Him.  Many activities can lead you to Him but the relationship is His ultimate goal. Taste and see that He is good and you will not be satisfied with other things that do not lead to Him.

Jeremiah 9:23, 24   “Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord which exercises lovingkindness, judgement, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.”