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Can Revival endure without obedience to the Lord?  His Word holds the answer, and he waits to show you.

The Old Testament book of Numbers begins with the Lord telling Moses that he and Aaron were to number ‘every male individually, from twenty years old and above – all who are able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies. And with you there shall be a man from every tribe, each one the head of his father’s house.’ 

After naming these men, the Bible says, ‘These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousand in Israel.’ 

So, where were they a few chapters later when the 10 spies who went with Joshua and Caleb gave the children of Israel an evil report of the land they had searched out? Where were they when it was crucial for them to ‘…lift up a standard for the people’? Why weren’t they standing with Aaron and Moses, and Joshua and Caleb? Where were they when they were needed the most? Something must have gotten them off track.

Jesus said, ‘If you continue in my Word, then are you my disciples indeed; And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ 

 It’s not about the ‘title’… it’s about the continuing.

Dig in, and read it for yourself.

Isaiah 58 is currently one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. Verses 9 & 10 read:

 

Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, If you extend your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday.

 

What a promise – when I call on the Lord, he will answer, “Here I am.”

 

So how do I realize this promise of God in my life?  …for one, if I take away ‘the pointing of the finger’.

 

Fast forward to chapter 7 of the Sermon on the Mount.  ‘And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?’

 

It’s real easy to find fault in others, but like Jesus said to Peter, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

 

Hmm… follow Jesus.

‘If, then’… the absolute declaration of personal accountability – and the Bible is full of it. One spot challenged me every time I read it – found in 1 John 2: 3-5.

‘Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.’

For years, when I read the word keep I saw the word do. But upon further study I came to realize keep means to guard, to protect – and reflects the place for God’s Word in a person’s heart. To keep God’s Word is to love, to honor, to cherish, to adore, to highly exalt, and to bow down before his Word… to give one’s self wholly to the Lord.

Thus, John’s behavior in Revelation 5 speaks so clear…

‘Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.’   (But the Lamb had prevailed!)

The challenge of 1John 2 remains – but it goes far beyond ‘what I do’… deep into ‘who I am’.

Dive in, and read it for yourself.

“I’m still trying to process everything.” These were the words of a store clerk I talked with recently, referring to a Christian concert/worship service she had attended. As I reflected later on her comment, I regretted not asking her to elaborate.

“I know what I saw, I know what I heard, and I know what I felt… but how does it fit in with everything happening around me – and where do I fit in?” Ask 10 – or 20 – or 100 people, and get as many answers. And yet, there is ‘the answer’.

Proverbs 8 begins: ‘Does not wisdom cry? And understanding put forth her voice? She stands in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. She cries at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.’ God wants to fill you with wisdom and understanding. He said in chapter 4, ‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all your getting get understanding.’ 

A while back, after being a committed Christian for many years, I began (and continue) to ‘Read-the-Bible-in-a-year’ through the Bible app on my cell phone. That daily time in the Word has changed my life – and if you, with a pure heart, will do the same, God will meet you there… and change your life, as well.

Thus, I become yet another voice bouncing around ‘out there’, but you don’t have to believe me because I said it – you can open ‘The Book’ and read it for yourself.