“Then they said to him (John the Baptist), “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’as the prophet Isaiah said.” (John 1:22-23)
27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 . . . Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:27-30)
John’s words here must also be the words of every born-again believer in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. What was true of John the Baptist, must also be true of you and me. “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness.” Also, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” These confessions speak of the Christian’s Purpose and Position.
The world is a wilderness of fallen humanity; we must be the voices crying for repentance to the One Who is Holy . . . Purpose. In the calling of our life Purpose, we also have a Position where when we cry out, no one sees the crier, but clearly see the Holy One, Jesus the Christ Who is spoken and warned to become right with. We must decrease!
“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. . . 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. (Acts 2:1-4 and 41)
Pentecost was in my thinking, perhaps the most revered, and spoken of, beginning for holy waves of revival, God’s outpouring. In recent days, it has appeared as though we have seen another wave of revival from God which was not planned, organized, and played out by man; I speak of the spontaneous move of God among the younger generations at Asbury University, and spreading far beyond.
In the Church, God’s outpouring of revival can feel as a great and mighty wave coming out from a vast ocean. As with the happenings at Asbury, I see four postures within revival in the Church with respect to God’s Wave.
Sadly, there will be some who will not even notice. On Pentecost, there were more than a million people in Jerusalem; only 3,000 were saved! Those who are unaffected have absolutely no commitment to Christ; neither do they want one.
I also see “back row Baptists” that will stand back and admire as entertainment or criticize all that they observe. They try to explain it away. They may have a fear of being splashed on by the wave, and dodge getting wet. These have very little commitment to Christ, if at all, so there will be little to no affect.
Perhaps there will be those that will be overcome, and rather than being brought to life, they drown under the wave. Oh, they want to be part of the excitement, the emotion, but not the commitment. They will be consumed by selfish pride and desires. At best, they show a half-hearted commitment. They may be, as some we have noted resulting from the human hype of Asbury, who wants to schedule, plan, and design their own wave of revival; to get on the bandwagon of excitement and emotion in a self-made wave which will quickly diminish any seeming power.
Then, in a genuine Holy Wave of Revival, there will be those who will ride it out for all its worth; a renewed life! There will be a sacrificing of self for the joy of being deep in Christ; a total commitment, total affect!
Who wants revival? Revival without sacrifice is not revival! We are in a spiritual war over souls in our nation. The evil one does not want to release the ones in his grip—those whom he has blinded from the truth. He fights on! (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
In a war there are battles, injuries, and sacrifices prior to victory; always remembering the wounds of Jesus on the road to victory. Church, America is in a war; a spiritual war that can be won by faithful followers of Jesus. “Submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)
Church, get right with God, now! Stand together and fight on your knees in resistance to the evil one, now! Pray On!
