WHEN… IF… THEN

[7-minute read]

We all know that it takes more than the main actors and the movie director to get a movie from an idea to a finished product. Do you belong to the group of people who stay behind after a movie ends to read the credit roll and see the names of all the people involved? Or do you make a quick exit, thinking and talking only about what you see on the big screen?

Recently, news broke about a spiritual revival that started at an obscure private university in Wilmore, Kentucky. It has since run into its tenth day at the time of this writing. Christian and secular news media, as well as viral videos on TikTok got everyone in global church circles talking. Thousands showed up on the campus, driving long distances and joining long queues in freezing temperatures. Invariably among them are the curious, the clueless, the committed, and the critics who all want to catch a piece of the action. Then, there are leaders from others churches who want to copy what is happening. But can it be copied? Let’s review the scene in Wilmore.

Asbury University is small-town private Christian university. It will take some effort to look up Asbury University’s ranking locally or among global Christian universities. Its worship setup is simple with only a piano and acoustic guitars. Instead of a drum set, they have a cajon [beat box]. They did not prepare for the revival with extensive worship rehearsals. There is no sign that the university has the technology to create dynamic visual backdrops. It has not booked a line-up of guest speakers or well-known preachers. In short, they didn’t do anything to draw the crowds. Yet, people kept showing up to experience the presence of God.

Isn’t that how God typically works? He averts any hype or fame attached to anything. He is not particularly drawn to church branding or ambitious church programmes. He simply comes to those who seek Him: He is drawn to people who are genuinely and desperately hungry for His holy visitation so they may impact others in their sphere of influence.

There are some things about spiritual revivals that we need to be clear about. Firstly, remember that everything that happens must point to God – not to any preacher, programme, building, or institution. God’s supernatural move must never be marketed as an event, or sold (prostituted) as an attraction to draw in the crowds and increase takings. Revival does not happen because a church wants to break a new record for a round-the-clock onsite prayer service, or run an ambitious series of non-stop preaching. Secondly, revival belongs to God: it is not the work of anyone, nor can it be attributed to any leadership. Thirdly, corporate revival does not happen without a desperate hunger for a personal revival. Without any personal transformation and a deepening of our personal commitment to God, the elevated moods one experiences at any gathering may only be the fleeting effect of our participation in collective worship.

True revivals lead to radical repentance. It brings about true conversions, deep transformations, and a greater awareness of the holiness of God. In short, a revival is a spiritual manifestation of God that cannot be manufactured to fit into a church’s calendar of events.

So when you hear about the revival at Asbury University (the church statement calls it ‘renewal movement’, ABC), what do you have to say about it? Is it enough to share with others the viral videos on social media? Will it be a new dinner topic to flesh out to impress others? Or would you start thinking about your own need for revival here and now? 

EVERYTHING BEGINS WITH PRAYER

The Israelites, like us, were known for two things: being forgetful about God’s miracles in their lives and not giving Him enough credit for who He is. How does God respond to our hard-heartedness and forgetfulness? 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 reveals to us His heart’s longing, “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among My people,  if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Let’s bring the words ‘when’, ‘if’ and ‘then’ into sharper focus and study.

WHEN

The word ‘when’ suggests timing (sooner or later; early or late; past, present or future), duration (normal, brief or extended) and circumstances that lead up to something happening. Rather than suggesting a possibility,  it actually implies the certainty of its occurrence. In other words, it’s only a matter of time.

If there is any doubt that we are living in the biblical realities described in 2 Chronicles 7:13-14, just look at the five-fold surge in natural disasters driven by climate change (UN News, Sept 2021). We are currently living in times of intensified calamities and widespread human suffering. Are these not telling us something?

When we see that we have a unique call to live in this particular epoch of human history, it takes little to imagine the bold conversations to be had and to raise the bar in our given roles in our families and society. We will find it hard to be content with a monolithic existence that has no interest or time to save lives and transform our communities. When we perceive the unprecedented scale of human challenges and opportunities today, we will confront all our excuses and get real with God. This begins with our repentance.

IF

The word ‘if’ describes the probability of something happening. When God says, “…if My people, who are called by My name, will humble …pray…seek….turn from their wicked ways”, He is talking about a change of heart that He is longing for. The question is not if we can, but if we will. Will we humble ourselves before Him? Will we pray and seek Him? Will we turn from prideful ways? While we may not do blatantly wicked acts, God wants us to have the right heart towards Him so we may possess the right response to events around us.

Sure, it is easy to impress people with an awareness of world events. But will we do more by asking God what it means for us to live in this time and age, what are His priorities, how can we add a deeper meaning to our unique roles at home and in society?

Yes, we may feel overwhelmed by the scale of human calamities and the speed of their occurrence. We may find the rapid decline of human-to-human engagement and empathy, and the intensity of our own crises too close for comfort.  How do we even start praying? 

But God responds to the deep yearnings in our hearts. He responds when we come to Him with grief and groans that are beyond words. Scripture tells us that, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” (Romans 8:26). God knows our inexpressible emotions. He understands our wordless thoughts.

My God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations

and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our pleas before You

based on any merits of our own, but based on Your great compassion.

Daniel 9:18

THEN

When we approach God with a change of heart, He responds by resetting our hearts and our relationship with Him (“I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”). Perhaps you think you are safe because you’ve been minding your own business, keeping your Christian opinion to yourself to stay out of conflict, avoiding controversies and change, and you think: What is there to repent of?

Let’s not be mistaken: our spiritual renewal requires a continual resetting of our hearts and mind by the Holy Spirit. Arguably, there is no such thing as an ‘old Christian’. There is nothing old about our faith or the Holy Spirit in us. While we may be convinced that we are hardwired to respond to life in a certain way, God wants to rewire us and give us an updated faith for today’s realities.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;

the old has gone, the new has come!."

2 Cor 5:17

As a result, God will put us in situations that will demand a renewal of our thinking, habits, defenses, and way of doing things so that we can bear new spiritual fruit in every season of our life. A statement released by Asbury President, Dr Kevin Brown, reminded everyone to “return to the mission of ‘neighbor-serving, God-honoring work’.”

What are you desperately hungry for today? And what is your excuse?

This is a summary and reflection based on a virtual BIR Session held on 18 February 2023.