Jump Start Revival
A few weeks ago when it was bitterly cold, we got a call from a family member that needed a jump. His battery was old and coupled with the cold outside, his van wasn't going to start without some assistance. Because God is good, we had time and the ability to go and bail him out. We showed up, hooked up the engines, and allowed the cables to do their job. There was no fear of his van leaching all of the power from our battery causing our car to sputter out, there was more than enough current for us both. Don't ask me how any of that works because I honestly have no idea, it's just the mechanical magic of a car. Yay engineers, way to go!
Quickly his van sprung to life and the jumper cables were removed. They were no longer necessary, it was just the spark that was needed, then his van was able to take it from there. Here is what he did not do: He did not turn off his van, jump out of the driver's seat, thank us, and head inside—that would have been ludicrous. No, instead he thanked us out of his window, backed up, and drove away. In order to preserve what he had received, he needed to take the time, take the drive, and persist until his battery was fully charged. We only gave him the spark, it was up to him what he was going to do with it.
“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
- James 1:22 NASB
We are so blessed with the country that we live in. Yes, I know everything is going to heck in a handbasket but that is neither here nor there. We are free to gather and worship the Lord. We can sit under amazing pastors who love Jesus and His body. We have the freedom to listen to teachings online 24/7. We can go to Christian bookstores and buy books on every topic imaginable, and if you don't want to leave your house, no problem, you can just order them online instead. We are not lacking for knowledge. We are lacking follow-through. We are connecting our jumper cables and then shutting our engine down once the car springs to life.
“Revival is no more a miracle than a crop of wheat. Revival comes from heaven when heroic souls enter the conflict determined to win or die—or if need be—to win and die!”
- Charles Finney
We must serve! We need to stop growing fat on our sermons and start being doers of the word and not hearers only. Hearing is half of the battle but it's the doing that brings results. There are so many running around asking for a word from God, asking for direction when what He's saying to them is, “What are you doing with the last one that I gave you?” Following is not taking what He says as a good option that will be considered at a later time. We either follow or we do not; there is no middle ground. We either serve God or we serve ourselves; there is no middle ground. We are either for Him or against Him; there is no middle ground.
It's time beloved that we take our car around the block, that we allow the spark that we have been given to grow into something worthwhile, something powerful, something of use. That is the purpose but that is also up to us. It's not going to be easy, we weren't promised easy but I promise that it will be simple. Simply follow. Simply serve. No matter the task, no matter your preference, no matter what others are doing. It's not our job to be like others, it's our job to be like Jesus, who came to serve not to be served. Jesus didn't come to be famous, in fact, He told everyone not to go around blabbing about the works that He did. Of course, they did anyway, how can you not talk about Jesus showing up? But it wasn't His goal. Why is it ours? That's not serving. That's not what's going to usher in the revival that we hear rumbling on the horizon.
God is moving, beloved, He is moving and things are changing but are you? We need to stop cherry-picking the work that we want to do and be willing to get our hands dirty wherever there is a need. I've done it and you have to, we've walked past the hurting, the dirty, the loud and unkempt because we didn't want to be bothered, because we didn't have the time, because it was inconvenient, we didn't want to get whatever was on them getting on us. There is always an excuse that keeps us walking and feeling relatively unmoved about our hard hearts. “I don't have the time Lord, You know my schedule,” or “God I really want to give, but You know about my bills,” or “God I would serve, but You know I need the extra hours,” or “God I would help, but You know what people would say if they saw me there.” And on and on we go until we have talked ourselves out of the very part of the body that we have been formed to be.
You want revival? Serve! Want this nation saved? Serve! Want your prodigal to return? Serve! Want to live a meaningful life? Serve! Act! Do!
I don't know what your situation is going to look like in the end, only God knows that, but I do know that if we aren't going to put any work in we can't expect a result any different than we already have. We talk and talk and talk but we don't do. No wonder things are as they are. Yes the times are dark, yes I have read the end of the book, things get worse before they get better but what if they don't have to get worse in your neighbor's life, or your coworker’s, or your cashier’s? We change our community one changed life at a time. We need to stop waiting until things start changing to start serving and become the harbingers of change that we were always meant to be. Is it going to be difficult? Absolutely. Do it anyway. Take the spark and run beloved, because you never know who needs one of their own and you never know who is waiting to follow in your wake.
Written by Amanda Strauser