Revival

1994

Revival cannot begin until we become greatly bowed down in heart, until we begin crying out, "who will save me from this body of death!" There must be a season of deep repentance before there can be restoration of joy. For rejoicing comes only to hearts that have been renewed to God.

Repentance is the soul travail which brings forth the heavenly fruit by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is not completed until the heart is born into newness of life. To the prideful heart, the work is not over until his delight becomes lowliness. Only those who yearn to find Him out will be persuaded of His utter holiness. For the closer we come into His divine presence, the more clearly we begin seeing ourselves as we really are. And we learn to abhor the darkness of our sin life only in the light of His eternal purity. How can we face the Almighty God and return again to the weak and beggarly elements of our mortal flesh?

All of our striving is in vain unless it brings us to bow low before Him as a sinner in search of His mercy and grace. Only then will we leave His throne justified. Let us return to Calvary to know once again the salvation of the Lord. For it is in kneeling at the foot of the cross where we find our old life hanging lifeless, dead, and see our new life emerging in glory. Let us cast off the defiled, filthy rags of our self-righteousness and put on the clothes of the bond servant, that we might truly give honor to the meek and lowly Spirit of Christ.

If we are unwilling to suffer with Him in bearing His reproach, we cannot expect to experience the power of His resurrection. As we pick up our cross daily, let us surrender our will to Him, even as He surrendered Himself for our sakes when He hung in our place. True surrender is marked by nail holes in the flesh. If we are truly following Him, we cannot forsake the cross. For it was our sin which brought the agony that broke the heart of the Son of God. Our only hope is to abandon our foolish attempts to satisfy ourselves and humbly come before Him, realizing that we live only by the mercy of the God who loved us enough to openly bear our shame.

Let our hearts cry out, "Lord, relieve us from our sin, for it is a loathsome disease in our sight and the weight of it is too great a burden to bear!", willingly giving to Him the reins of our heart, that we might be led in the way everlasting. Let us come to the cross, bowed down before Him, where we hear Him say, "Father, forgive them", as He sheds His innocent blood, cleansing us and setting us free. Then will we rejoice in the salvation of the Lord.