"REVIVE 'US' AGAIN?"

We were in a church service some years ago in which the pastor exhorted his congregation to seek revival for the simple reason that "if we don't get on fire for God, God is liable to grant revival to some other church."

It would be difficult to find a premise more variant to divine will than that in which the extension of divine grace to other believers is deemed objectionable, presumably because such would be deemed a denial of our own quest for preeminence and spiritual superiority. Unfortunately, such spirit is not always difficult to ascertain within other church related settings as well.

Nor does Scripture lack for mention of similar attitude and pursuit. Both Mark and Luke note that on one occasion the Disciples sought to stymie the ministry of another exercising a successful ministry of exorcism in Jesus' name. "We forbade him," John explained, "because he was not following us." Jesus' response was the injunction to "hinder him not... because he who is not against us is for us" (Mark 9:38-40; Luke 9:49-50).

But to a more positive note: We also recall another pastor who shared that he had once passionately advised the Lord that revival represented the most fervent desire of his heart. At this point, he recounted, it was as though the Lord replied, "You won't mind, then, if I send it through the church down the road, will you?" It opened his eyes.

As previously observed, we are gratified for the growing sense of urgency relative to revival within the Church - and in consequence, our nation at large. Such constitutes a vital need. We do, however, find it rather disquieting on occasion to detect what would seem a somewhat sectarian cast in relation to such interests. "How," the questioning goes, "can we see a re-igniting of spiritual fervor and dynamic within the churches of our particular fellowship or identity?

On the other hand, we are again gratified to witness those seeking revival within their particular spheres of endeavor, not merely in the interests of a self-focused enounter with divine grace and revitalization, but that they might themselves become instruments of that grace in relation to the larger community of faith - including the "church down the road."

Herein is reflected the perspective of our Lord who has only "one body" (Eph. 4:4-6). He does not make the distinctions to which we are sometimes so determinedly commited.

Burl Ratzsch

"UNDERSTANDING THE TIMES"

Homespun wisdom would propose something to the effect that, in terms of the objectively meaningful, some individuals play a role in what is happening; others primarily observe what is happening; while more than a few have little idea as to what is happening.

To no small degree, the latter characterization accords with Jesus' reference to a coming day wherein mankind's essential lack of discernment concerning the times will prove fatally ruinous - a state of loss finding prefiguration in the realities of Noah's day: "They knew not until the flood came and took them all away" (Matt. 24:39).

Scripture has more than a little to say in this regard. It has been to the Church's loss that requisite insight has, on occasion, been missed at this point; as such granting opportunity to the speculative and/or merely assumptive. Some will remember, for example, the widely promoted "countdown to the 'eighties" enthusiasm of the late 'seventies and subsequent 'eighties wherein Christ was to return, first in 1981 and, given that date's ultimate and obvious failure, 1988. The result, of course, was not only confusion but loss of credibility.

I Chronicles 12:32 describes "the sons of Issachar" as men who, in a crucial and defining hour, "understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do." That they should be so acknowledged within a lengthy listing of tribal militias denotes the significance of their perceptiveness.

A basic need within much of today's Church is for men and women of commitment and stability; in other words, those who are motivated by more than the merely conjectural, along with other self-defeating vulnerabilities such as sectarian impulsion, emotional stimulus, personal aggrandizement or self focused recognition - "religious" though such may be.

Answer here will necessitate, first of all, our "understanding the times" in terms of the need for revival, recommitment to Scripture, dedication to end time mission, and awareness of a coming hour of test.

Burl Ratzsch

NEW AWAKENING?

"Will you not revive us again...?" (Psa. 85:6).

In addressing Israel's need for an all-encompassing restoration following its prolonged captivity, the cultural and spiritual implications of the foregoing petition were, of course, inescapable.

In light of our own nation's state of moral and spiritual declension, the call increasingly heard within the believing community for a new spiritual awakening is, in itself, encouraging. It is further heartening that long overdue lessons derivative the past with regard to such interests are likewise being recognized.

(One is somewhat inclined at this juncture to recall Thomas Edison's observation that in the rather lengthy process of inventing the light bulb he had learned much concerning ideas and procedures that did not work. Given the less-than-overwhelming results sometimes attendant contemporary faith-related initiative, might not we similarly benefit from greater insight as to that which is effective in relation to spiritual cause and endeavor as opposed to that which is not? We would so suggest.

Within the evangelical Church at large, commendable objective has, in many instances, been stymied by well-intentioned, albeit essentially futile pursuits reflecting: 1) an undue reliance upon humanly programmed strategies; 2) efforts to emulate the "success" patterns of others; and/or 3) quests to induce the presence and dynamic of divine blessing by means of the formulaic and methodologically prescribed.

If, supposedly, we can just implement the latest "church growth" program; reproduce another's worship patterns and operational methods; emulate the performance skills and mannerisms of some popular personality; apply the latest innovative technique to our outreach program, ad infinitum, we shall surely reap revival in terms of renewed vision, commitment, growth and dynamic. Right? Reality would attest otherwise.

Hence a growing awareness on the part of many that viable renewal does not emanate from human resource or latest thesis on "How to have revival," but rather outworking of the Spirit in terms of:

1) Our "[laboring] together with God" (I Cor. 3:9), and...

2) God's "working with us" in the interests of divine purpose and calling (Mark 16:20).

Such is, and shall continue to be, a vital principle within the realm of spiritual cause and advance. (In illustration of the first point, see well-known exhortation of II Chron. 7:14; in relation to the latter, II Chron. 29:36 as underscoring causal source and dynamic in that greatest of Old Testament revivals. Within this context, insight regarding that for which we so greatly stand in need will be meaningfully served.)

"Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?"

Burl Ratzsch