Ree-vy-vahl

Revival is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot.  We sing it during worship, beg God for it when we pray, and try to label the past with it.  Until lately, my definition of revival was this: occurrences where tons of people feel really good about God, some get saved, and then they get recorded in the history books. I feel like we sometimes put this kind of focus on Sunday morning church - I've heard pastors preach that, unless we fill every seat in our sanctuaries, people will never hear the Gospel and we will never experience revival in our generation.  It seems that this rationale has been used to build bigger buildings, hire more pastoral staff, and send more postcards.

I don't have a problem with church on Sunday mornings or building our campuses to better serve our neighborhoods.  I actually really enjoy Sunday morning church and think providing for people's needs to be a very noble cause.  What I'm saying is that we are missing out if we limit our definition and experience of revival to church or big events or even make them the center of what we understand revival, or even ministry, to be.  Revival is not church or concerts or speakers or unity of His people.  

At its core, revival means to come back to life after lacking it; to bring life back.  Revival involves Heaven coming to earth as we experience the depths of God's heart, fall in love, live differently because of it, and are compelled to breathe life to areas of decay around us. 

What I see in the Bible is this: we were given an atmosphere of life and an intimate closeness with God in Eden, sin entered the world, and with it death, humanity struggled and responded to God by offering Him dead animals.  The Word became flesh as Jesus entered the world, He raised the dead, healed the sick, brought peace and justice, laid Himself down for a bunch of people who didn't deserve it, told His closest friends to do what He did, and gave us His Spirit for intimate companionship.  Then those guys, empowered by Spirit, raised the dead, healed the sick, brought peace and justice, and invested in  genuine community that became the body of Christ.  Essentially, we lost our access to Life and the Father, Jesus gave Himself up to get it back for us, and then the people who loved Him the most and spent the most time around Him, proceeded to do the same thing for the rest of the world.

It didn't end there, though.  This is the hour for revival.  It is happening now.  Here.  How do I know?  Because I've experienced it.

I am a revivalist.

What I know from my own life is that Jesus has brought a number of areas back to life - He has healed me, He has taken care of me, revealed His heart to me, unlocked my true identity and potential.  I was dead, now He is bringing me to life.  He didn't stop reviving me when I came to church or when I asked Him into my heart or when it first felt 'real.'  He is constantly bringing me into Life, drawing me closer to Him, and giving me new dreams.  

From here, I can't help but press my ear to His chest to hear the rhythm of His heartbeat.  I am a conduit of Life to the world.  The more I encounter His love, the more I want to live differently.  The more I hear His voice, the more I want to say the things He says.  The more I discover in His heart, the more I want to respond with love towards Him and others.  My life just isn't the same.  

And so I have come to the conclusion that revival is something to be experienced in intimate depth with the Father and something to be given out of our overflow of His love.  It is fruit of fighting for intimacy with Jesus all day every day.  It is born out of worship, nurtured in our spirits, influencing of the desires of our souls and the actions of our bodies. Its mark on the world is never ending.