heaven's tree book club

September 8, 2012
"Revival is central to the message of the Kingdom, for it is in revival that we more clearly see what His dominion looks like and how it is to affect society. Revival at its best is, Thy Kingdom come.
In a way, revival illustrates the normal Christian life."
I had no idea what to expect. I was asked to check out a disability teen ministry to see if it is a possibility for me to help out. I was asked to come half an hour early to meet the leader. There were also three other volunteers, two middle age men and a teenage girl who is in her first year in college. The girl whose name I cannot remember was very quiet and sat at the table silently for most of the time. One of the guys, Paul was very talkative and friendly. It turns out he has two sons, one of which is blind and the other has autism. At the end of the night I met both sons. We only had two teens. One was very high functioning and the other very low functioning. She kept on coming up to me and touching my wheelchair and saying chair. She wanted my chair. Then she touched my foot and said foot but most of her communication was noises which I could not understand. She ran around and knocked down chairs. I suddenly thought to myself, how am I going to communicate with her? I have no idea. The other girl was very talkative and had a lot of questions about my disability. IN all, I liked being there and I like the staff. I felt a little powerless because I don't know what I can do here. It also felt like we did not provide much except for company and conversation and some snacks. I am learning what real ministry looks like and there is a lot I can learn from these older leaders. My heart's desire is to serve the underserved and forgotten and the Lord provided this opportunity here. It is somewhat disappointing that there were only two teens tonight, but we need to begin somewhere.

I have long desire to see revival. I haven't seen it in my life. I haven't lived that long, but this is something I pray for, to see revival. I attend a church with about 20-25 people most are in their 70s and 80s. It is an aging and dying church and this is the best place to see revival. But revival, like my physical healing seems so impossible in this place. All around me I see hopeless situations and I don't have enough faith to think that God can bring things back to life. This author thinks revival should be part of the normal Christian life. I agree, but I just don't know how we can go about it.

"Before the Messiah came, the religious leaders prayed for and taught about His coming. There was a worldwide stirring, even in a secular society, about something wonderful that was about to happen. And then in a manger in Bethlehem, Jesus was born.
The stargazers knew who He was and traveled a great distance to worship and give Him gifts. The devil also knew, and moved Herod to kill the first-born males in an attempt to stop Jesus' plan to redeem mankind. After he failed, he tried to lure Jesus to sin with temptation in the wilderness. What is even more startling is that this visitation of God did not escape the notice of the demon-possessed. Such was the man at the Gadarenes.When he saw Jesus, he fell down before Him in worship and was soon set free from his life of torment. Yet the religious leaders that prayed for His coming didn't recognize Him when He came.
Paul and Silas preached the gospel throughout Asia Minor. The religious leaders said they were of the devil. But a demon-possessed fortune-teller girl said they were of God. How is it that those who are thought to be spiritually blind are able to see, and those who were known for their insight didn't recognize what God was doing?
History is filled with people who prayed for a visitation of God and missed it when it came. And this happened even though some had a strong relationship with (">od."
It is sad that the devil has a stronger spiritual vision than some Christians. The devil is totally aware of the work and presence of God. He tried to kill the infant Jesus and then tempted Him in the wilderness. The teachers of the law, so versed in Scripture did not recognize the Messiah when He came. It is so possible to miss the visitation and presence of God. I am totally sure that every day I too miss God's appearing. Even though right now I don't go out much, there are moments in my day when God appears and I am just not aware of it.

"The testimony of history and the record of Scripture warn us of the possibility of this error. "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."3 Matthew says it's the dull of heart who can't see.' A dull knife is one that has been used. The implication is that the dull of heart had a history in God, but did not keep current in what God was doing. We maintain our sharp edge as we recognize our need and passionately pursue Jesus. This first love somehow keeps us safely in the center of God's activities on earth.
The church of Ephesus received a letter from God. In it Jesus addressed the fact that they had left their first love. First love is passionate by nature and dominates all other issues in one's life. If they didn't correct this problem, God said He would remove their'lampstand.'While theologians don't all agree on what that lampstand is, one thing is for certain: a lamp enables us to see. Without it the church in Ephesus would lose their perceptive abilities. The above mentioned blindness or dullness is not always the kind that leads to hell. It just doesn't lead us to the fullness of what God has intended for us while here on earth. When passion dies, the lamp of perception is eventually removed."
I can remember having a much stronger spiritual perception when an undergrad and even in my 20s. During New York my spiritual perceptions began to fade. It was still there, but growing dim. Now, back in Sac, I feel drained. I don't have much spiritual perception, and my passion for God is really dull now. It doesn't help being isolated from other believers. Christians have a way of stimulating each other's faith. Although I attend church, this church also is very spiritually dry. People don't sing during worship, people don't pray during prayer time, and people just don't talk about God. I was at a Korean church for two years where the passion of God was strong, people sung loudly during worship and were honest before God in prayer and loved well. There was a clear difference in their lives. I just don't see that anywhere now. Strong Christians stimulate deep faith in others. When our passion for God goes, our spiritual perception begins to fade.

"Whenever the great leaders of the Church stand up and declare that this is a revival, I'm encouraged. It has happened in my own denomination. But even that does not interest me as much as God's true mark of a revival. In His wisdom. He created things in such a way that when He is on the move the world often takes notice first. I look for the response of the demomzeci. It's the drug addict, the ex-con, and the prostitute that I want to hear from. When God moves in revival power, these people look on, not as critics, but as people in great need of God. And we are hearing from them in great numbers. They are being transformed, saying, "Only God could make this change in nay lite.This is God!"
Being in a place of great need enables a person to detect when God is doing something new. That place of great need doesn't have to be drug addiction or prostitution. Every Christian is supposed to maintain a desperate heart for God. We are in great need! Jesus addressed that fact with these words: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 'h Remaining poor in spirit, combined with a first love passion for Jesus are the keys God created to anchor us to the center of His work."
  
"We miss God when we live as though we have Him figured out. We have the habit of making Him look like us. In fact, if we think we understand Him we have probably conformed Him into our image. There must remain mysterv in our relationship with this One who has purposed to work beyond our capacity to imagine.''To endeavor to know Him is to embark on an adventure in which questions increase.
Our God-born desire for revival must keep us desperate enough to recognize Him when He comes. Without such desperation, we get satisfied with our present status and become our own worst enemies at changing history.
History cannot be changed effectively until we are willing to get our hands dirty.We do that when we embrace the call to infiltrate the Babylonian system, which is the subject of the next chapter."
Prayer:
Father, it is when I begin to understand You that I have conformed You into an understandable image. I am so glad that yYou are infinite and mysterious. I never cease to recognize my need for You. However, in recent weeks I grow more and more dull in faith. I have lost my spiritual perception and pray for revival, first within me.. I want to live a vibrant and spirit-filled Christian life. I want a growing passion for You and longing for Your presence and power. I don't want to miss Your appearing and voice. Protect me from growing spiritually dull and tired. Surround me I pray with strong Christians who have a deep passion for You. Slowly each day I seem to grow a little bit more agnostic because I feel forgotten and purposeless. Help me I pray to renew my faith in You and Your goodness.