My Revival Faux Pas, God’s Sense of Humor, and Truth

We have had revival services at our church this week. It has been a spectacular time of hearing truth, worshipping through music, and bringing our hearts to God in prayer. Before I tell you how God got my attention, I must first tell you about my faux pas and how God has the best sense of humor. 

The preacher was telling the story found in Mark chapter 5 of how Jesus brought freedom to the demoniac. I am usually careful to silence my phone before church, but somehow I had forgotten to do that. It was at that exact point in the message that my phone rang. Why is that funny? Well, my ring tone is the “Amazing Grace” version by Chris Tomlin, and the chorus starts with “My chains are gone; I’ve been set free….” So at that moment in the story when the preacher was saying how the demoniac had been freed, my phone blared out, “My chains are gone; I’ve been set free!” Lol! God has the best sense of humor!

But just as God brings laughter, He brings sobering truth. Truth that sears our souls to bring conviction, repentance, and a change in how we live. I pray that there are changes in how I live because of what I committed to God this week.  

You see, I sat there for four nights this week, hearing truth and thinking about all the people whom I wish had been able to come and hear the speakers. I thought of my friend who doesn’t believe in God and is honestly hostile toward Him. I thought of my friend who says she is a Christian but doesn’t read her Bible, make time to go to church, or seem interested in spiritual things. I thought about my friend who is a believer but struggling with difficult trials in her life. 

And God poked me in the ribs and said, “You needed these messages just as much as any of them.” I’ve heard the expression, “Revival needs to start in me,” and I’ve even prayed for that. But it flooded over my soul this week as if I’d never heard it before.

I couldn’t get those particular friends to come to church. But the church isn’t that building. It is the body of Christ. I am the church. My friends may not come to the building, but they come to me every week in conversations, interactions, and divine appointments.  And my excitement is what will intrigue them about Jesus. 

So this was God’s message to me this week:

Is my enthusiasm about Jesus really contagious? Or is my Christianity convenient and casual? Do I make sure others know I am a Christian but make sure I “keep it under control” so I am not seen as a fanatic or weird? Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:10, “We are fools for Christ.” He was willing to look foolish and did not “tone it down” in order to win people over. On the contrary— his zeal teaches us that the way to impact others isn’t by becoming like them. It is by standing out. Everywhere Paul went there was either a revival or a riot. He definitely didn’t blend in. 

Am I trying to cajole people to church so that the “professionals” can share with them? Or am I sharing my personal passion and my personal story about someone who can change their lives? Am I expecting the preacher to share with MY friends, whom God has placed into MY path for a reason? Or am I accepting my God-given role as the one who is to take His truth to them?

Churches have adopted business-type models on how to make decisions and run various functions. There are committees for everything, and this structure, though it lends to accountability, also lends to the thought that the pastor is more like a CEO and we are the customers. 

The pastor’s job is not just to teach us truth. His job is to teach US how to teach truth. His job is not just to minister. His job is to teach US how to be ministers. “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, TO EQUIP HIS PEOPLE FOR WORKS OF SERVICE so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:11,12, emphasis mine). It is my job to serve others and build up other believers. My pastor is just my coach, my trainer, in how to do that. Am I sitting on the bench? Or do I want to get in the game? 

Oh, Lord, put me in the starting lineup! Revival can start with one person being obedient and sold out to God. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, it can spread like wildfire. May it begin in me.