Faith

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In many Evangelical fellowships there is a yearly, if not semi-annual, gathering of people who are responding to the beckoning of their spiritual leadership to be part of a special series of meetings called Revival. Hymns and choruses fill the “sanctuaries” with petitions to God to “revive us again.” Evangelists are summoned and promotional materials are circulated throughout the community with the hope that lukewarm Believers will be rejuvenated and returned to an active role in the Kingdom of God. Why do we need reviving? There are a number of scenarios that could possibly shed some light on this phenomenon. Maybe the Church is made up of too many head conversions instead of heart transplants. Is it possible that many pew warmers have deceived themselves into thinking that works and faith do not have to be interrelated? Is it possible to be a member of a church without being a true Believer? Is it possible some have not taken their salvation seriously? Perhaps if they neglect their Bible reading, they could wander into areas in which they should not be. Perhaps they respond to life’s challenges by reason instead of faith. Perhaps they spend more time in horizontal conversations than in communication with God. Perhaps they can have the appearance of servitude without serving anyone. I guess they can learn the Jesus vocabulary without sharing it outside the Christian circle. Yes, I guess there can be situations where a revival is needed.

Speaking rhetorically, I understand no one is perfect and the world is quick to acknowledge that, but can we come to a point where we ignore the things we have been taught? Do we come to a place where God moves from being number one on our priority list to being out of our top ten? Sure, we will stumble and take an “eight count,” but to the point of being “lukewarm?” Jesus told John in Revelation that those who are “…lukewarm, and neither cold not hot, I will spew … out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:16) When you limit the capacity of your eyes, ears, and mouth from seeing, hearing, and speaking the things of the Kingdom, your zeal will wane. The question is how far will a Believer go before realizing that something is wrong?

Whenever something goes wrong with our car, we take it to a mechanic. Appliances go on the blink and we call for the repairman. If we feel sick, we go to the doctor. Why is it when we feel our spiritual temperature is dropping, we don’t call for our spiritual brothers, sisters and Pastor to assist us with our struggle for spiritual stability? Could it be that some Christians don’t take their testings and trials seriously? Could it be that they think they can work it out themselves?

Take your spiritual “vitals” everyday. Have you spent time in prayer? How much time did you spend in the Word? How much time did you give to praise and worship? Who did you encourage? What did you do for the Lord today? If you are slipping away into a more conducive environment for fleshly realities, fall on your knees and let Jesus lift you up. If your pulse is slow, get active for God. Perhaps some do need a revival, but don’t let your spiritual life fade so much that you need to have an emotional reunion at the annual revival meeting just to get on your feet again.

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