What is Revival? Upward Fixation on Jesus
The Ephesian believers had “forsaken the love” they had at first. One translation puts it this way: “You have left your first love.”
What is our first love? It’s not evangelism or revival or ministry or even the church. Our first love is Jesus.
Revival starts with an upward fixation on Jesus. He’s the epicenter and apex of every true spiritual awakening.
From every report I’m getting from Asbury University, it seem there’s a collective fixation on Christ. The music being sung, the Scriptures being read, and the prayers being prayed have Jesus as their centerpiece and His glory as their masterpiece.
Because of this collective fixation on Jesus, many of these young believers are heeding the call of Jesus to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2. Some are coming to Him for the first time in faith and receiving His free gift of salvation, based on Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Others are coming back to Him as their “first love” and allowing Him to reign supreme in every area of their lives.
The first sign of true revival is that there’s an upward fixation on Christ. The second is that there’s an…
What is Revival? Inward Consecration of Self
According to vocabulary.com, consecration “is the act of dedicating something to God, sanctifying it and making it holy.” It is a separation from sin and a setting apart to God.
Jesus calls the Ephesian believers to “consider how far you have fallen” and to “repent.” Just as it had been 40 years earlier, before the scroll-burning incident, there were new sins hidden in their closets that needed to go up in a blaze.
These believers needed to remember and return. These believers needed to consecrate themselves to God. So do we. A key part of consecration is engaging in the process of identifying and crucifying our secret sins so we can be wholly devoted to Christ.
2 Timothy 2:19-21 says it like this:
“Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master, and prepared to do any good work.
God will serve revival only on clean plates.
That’s why I was so excited to hear that confession of secret sins and public declaration of whole-hearted commitment to Christ are central to what has been taking place at Asbury University.
The inward work of consecration must begin in our hearts first, before it can spill over into true revival. For revival to start, there must be an upward fixation on Jesus, an inward consecration of self, and finally an…
Outward Activation for the Gospel
Jesus wrote these stinging words to the church of Ephesus:
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. (Revelation 2:4-5)
