“We have got to realize and understand that God will never give you a vision that He also doesn’t give you what it takes to pull it off. That God will never put something on your heart that he also doesn’t give you what it takes to see it through.”

Jonathan Falwell, from his message “Don’t Let the Vision Become the Victim”, preached at Innovate Church 2009 May 18, 2009

The other day, our youth director expressed his disgust with the fact that there seems to be a trend where pastors are trying to look hip. He said “they dress alike. Their churches look alike. The websites are the same. They use the same jargon. They are all trying to compete with Starbucks. There is no uniqueness in their ministries.”

This caused me to think about what God is calling our church to be. What is he calling me to be? Do I need to grow a “soul patch” and give up the “classic look” in order to reach people with the gospel? Or is he calling me and our church to be the unique creation that He called into existence?

A.W. Tozer has a great perspective on this issue. Consider what he wrote 60 years ago concerning the issue of Christian literature. It will provide some thought concerning the call to be you and the issue of the “party line.”

“Christian literature, to be accepted and approved by evangelical leaders of our times, must follow very closely the same train of thought, a kind of “party line” from which it is scarcely safe to depart. A half-century of this in America has made us smug and content. We imitate each other with slavish devotion. Our most strenuous efforts are put forth to try to say the same thing that everyone around us is saying-and yet to find an excuse for saying it, some little safe variation on the approved theme or, if no more, at least a new illustration.” A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, Christian Publications

Thanks Tozer. You have helped me think through the “party line” and make the decision to not grow a “soul patch.”

“The idea of cultivation and, exercise, so dear to the saints of old, has now no place in our total religious picture. It is too slow, too common. We now demand glamour and fast flowing dramatic action. A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God. We read our chapter, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar.

The tragic results of this spirit are all about us: Shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit. These and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul.”

A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, Christian Publications

“There is today no lack of Bible teachers to set forth correctly the principles of the doctrines of Christ, but too many of these seem satisfied to, teach the fundamentals of the faith year after year, strangely unaware that there is in their ministry no manifest Presence, nor anything unusual in their personal lives. They minister constantly to believers who feel within their breasts a longing which their teaching simply does not satisfy.”

A.W. Tozer The Pursuit of God, Christian Publications

“A religion, even popular Christianity, could enjoy a boom altogether divorced from the transforming power of the Holy Spirit and so leave the church of the next generation worse off than it would have been if the boom had never occurred. I believe that the imperative need of the day is not simply revival, but a radical reformation that will go to the root of our moral and spiritual maladies and deal with causes rather than with consequences, with the disease rather than with symptoms.”

A.W. Tozer Keys to the Deeper Life, Zondervan Publishing House

As I mentioned before, I was encouraged to expand a prior blog post, Incorrect Motives for Praying for Revival, into an article. The resulting article, “The Quest for True Revival”, was published by Empower Ministries International in their Dunamos newsletter. The article is now appearing in Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox as a two-part series. The first part was published in the May 28 edition of the Toolbox. You can click here to read it. The second part will be published June 11.

There seems to be a growing yearning for revival in our country. It has become an evident burden upon the hearts of many Christian leaders. It has become the focus of many conferences as they have placed the emphasis on revival. One major ministry has called a “solemn assembly” for the purpose of seeking God’s face for revival in our nation. It is very apparent that the hearts of Christian people are being moved for revival.

However, there is a major problem with the current emphasis on revival. And if we do not recognize the problem, I believe our emphasis and efforts will be meaningless. The problem has to do with our American concept of revival. The American concept of revival seems to be focused on the nation as a whole. It seeks God to bring revival to America so that biblical norms of morality will be restored. It almost seems to be a cry of desperation that has resulted from watching the power and influence of the church disappear in our country. It’s a “we tried our best, now we need God” attitude.

While this concept of revival is popular and prevalent, I believe it is misguided and wrong. And the result will only be manifested in disappointment. My assumption is based on two thoughts:

1. The issue is the church, not the nation.
I believe our efforts for revival are meaningless because the focus is on the wrong place. There is an underlying assumption with the American concept of revival that is very deceptive. The assumption is based on a belief that the church in America is spiritually okay. Yet poll after poll shows us that we are lying to ourselves about the true condition of our morality. We struggle with addictions just as the lost. We have a higher divorce rate than the lost. We view as much pornography as the lost. We are just a prejudice. We worship at the altar of materialism. We are self-absorbed.

In spite of all of this, we are disturbed more by the actions of unbelievers than our own. We have forgotten that they need Jesus. Only then will they be able to live as Jesus wants them to live. I believe it grieves the heart of God more when He sees those who have been redeemed living as the world in general. We need to embrace the words of Jesus when He told the multitudes, “

And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Matthew 7:3-5 ( NKJV )

Instead of praying for revival so that the nation is turned around, we need to pray the God turns the church around. I believe that the Lord is disgusted with the church and its sins, more so than the sins of the nation. We belong to Him, yet we turn the blind eye to our sins and focus of the sins of the lost. It is not the nation that needs revival, but the church.

2. America does not need revival, it needs to be evangelized.

Revival means to bring back to life. It has to do with God’s people coming back to life. The lost cannot be brought back to life when they have never experienced it in the first place. America does not need revival, it needs to be evangelized. This requires that the church deals with it sins so that we can be effective witnesses to the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. With a nation that is becoming increasing secular and irreligious, the church needs to wake up to its responsibility as light-bearers. What will turn back the darkness in our nation is not a revival, but the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ that emanates from our lives.

Revival will never take place among that which a spiritually dead. Revival can only take place among the church. That is where our emphasis needs to be concerning revival. We need to start praying that the Lord will be merciful to the American church. We need to confess and turn from our sins. We need to seek His presence that has long been absent from His people. We need to turn back to God.

The church’s prayer time on Sunday evenings have become a very special time. It is very evident that God is moving. Last Sunday I handed out a prayer card that would serve as the focus of our prayers for the summer. The prayer card covered nine areas of prayer.

1. That the Holy Spirit would open our eyes to our true condition.
2. Confess and turn from any sin or habit that is hindering your walk with Christ.
3. Ask that the Holy Spirit would fill and empower you.
4. Ask that the Lord would consume you with a desire for the Word of God.
5. Ask the Lord to burden your heart for those who need Jesus.
6. Ask the Lord to give you new opportunities for ministry.
7. Ask the Lord to prepare our hearts and lives for what He is about to do.
8. Ask the Lord that we would be used to see many people come to Christ.
9. Ask the Lord for the World according to Psalm 2:8

Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance And the ends of the earth for Your possession.,
Psalms 2:8 (NKJV)

As I have been witnessing the amazing things that the Lord is doing in the church that I pastor, the Holy Spirit has confronted me with wrong attitudes and thinking that I embraced. One area of conviction has to do with my patriotism.

To understand my patriotism, you need to know that I was born into the home of a career Army soldier. I grew up on and around military bases. A strong sense of God and country has always been a part of my environment. When I came to Christ as a freshman engineering student, I entered into an evangelical world with an even stronger sense of patriotism.

Lately I have been bothered by my patriotism. It almost seems heretical to even say that. But as the Spirit has been working in my life and exposing issues that are hindering my walk with Christ, He has clearly pointed out the idolatry of my patriotism. I have ignorantly place my devotion to a concept of America on the same level with the God of the Universe. I have lifted up both the cross and the flag.

The conviction of the Holy Spirit has brought me to a realization of my idolatry. The Lord states

I am the Lord, that is My name;
    And My glory I will not give to another,
    Nor My praise to carved images. Isaiah 42:8 (NKJV) (also see Isaiah 48:11)

I have been placing my concept of America on par with the Lord. In fact, I have actually placed my concept of America above God. For example, I tend to get really irritated with anyone who wants to change what “my” America should be. I have come to realize that my offense at the cultural wars is actually greater than any feelings or thoughts I might have toward those who blaspheme the name of the Lord. In fact, I am pretty tolerant of those who trash my God, but don’t you mess with my country.

The reality that I have had to face is that my evangelical concept of what America should be has become a god to me. And the Holy Spirit has been telling me that “My glory I will not give to another.” As I have been confronted with my idolatry, I have had to make the following changes in my thinking:

1.    My loyalty and worship belongs only to Jesus Christ.
2.    I must not share that loyalty and worship with my concept of America.
3.    I must not assume that my concept of America is God’s will.
4.    I must recognize that America, as with other nations, will one day bow the knee to Jesus.

Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.
Daniel 7:14 ( NKJV )

A year ago, I posted some thoughts concerning praying for revival in “Incorrect Thoughts Concerning Praying for Revival.” I was encouraged to expand that blog post into an article. The result of the encouragement was an article entitled “The Quest for True Revival.” Empower Ministries International published the article in February. You can request a copy of the article by contacting them through the Empower Ministries website.

As I have looked at the issue of the need for revival in the North American church, I have realized that I needed to change the focus of my revival prayers. The issue was not that I was praying for revival, but how I was praying for it. As I have mentioned in my blog post last year, many have prayed for revival and few have prayed sincerely. How can I make sure that my prayers are sincere?

I believe the answer lies in moving from what I desire to what God wants. It means shifting the focus from revival changing the culture to revival changing the church. So if I take the improper motives that I had for revival prayer and shift the focus, I find that I have three requests that reflect God’s heart for the North American church.

Request #1.    Revival will clean up the Church

    As I prayed for revival before, my desire was for God to clean up the moral illness of our society. When I shifted my focus from what I desired to what God wants for His church, the nature of my improper motive changed to a genuine request. Now my desire is for God to send revival to clean up the North American church. As I have mentioned before, there is virtually no difference between believers and unbelievers in thought, word and deed. The only difference is church attendance.

    When I shift my focus, I realize that the church needs to be cleaned up. The church has to get serious about it sins. It needs to recognize and acknowledge that it reflects the culture more than it does the Savior who purchased her with His blood.

    With this proper focus I am asking God to bring the church to the place where the reality of His word is manifested. The church will exemplify the words of Paul as he quotes the Old Testament, “

Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” (2 Cor. 6:17). I am asking God to allow the church to experience victory over sin, so that the words of the writer of Hebrews are realized, “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

Request #2.    Revival will restore the Church

    In the past, my prayers for revival had been focused on the restoration of the nation to some former glory. But as I shifted the focus of my prayers to what God wants, my request was transformed into a desire for God to restore the church to His glory. Our natural bent is to seek glory. As I prayed for revival in the past, my desire for glory was misplaced. Selfishly I wanted God to bring the culture back to the glorious days, when the church was a respectable part of society. In reality I was not seeking the restoration of glory for the culture, but the church.

While desiring glory for the church is good, I was wrongly seeking it for the church and myself from the culture. The glory that the church should be seeking is God’s. Isaiah tells us that there is where glory truly belongs. Recording the words of God, he writes “everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory.” (Isa 43:7) God created the church to bring Him glory. Selfishly I was seeking glory that did not belong to the church or me. Glory alone belongs to God. So when we shift our focus from self to God, everything we do (preaching, singing, writing, ministry) takes on new meaning as we do it for His glory. So when I pray for revival, I am praying that God will restore the church to His glory.

Request #3.    Revival will make the church like Jesus Christ

    As I shifted my focus in prayer from what I desired to what God wants, I came to a realization concerning what the ultimate desire of God is for His church. He wants the church to reflect the character and nature of His Son, Jesus Christ. Out of my false sense of comfort, I prayed for the culture to become as the church. Sadly, the church has been becoming like the culture.

    The mandate of the scripture is that believers are not to be like the world. John tells us “Do not love the world or anything in the world.” (1 John 2:15). So when I pray for revival, once again my focus shifts from the transformation of society to the transformation of the church. I want the church to become like His Son. This is what Paul was implying when he tells the Romans “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2) Praying for revival moves me to ask God to transform the church to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.