Is It Do-able?
“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”(John 15:16)
The night before He died on the
cross, the Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples that He had ordained
(appointed) them, and all those who believe on Him, to experience a very
wonderful life. It will be a life of productivity (abiding fruit), and
miracles (answered prayer). No Christian could ask for anything more. In the
tenth chapter of John, the Lord said we would have life “more abundantly,” and
this statement in chapter 15 is referring to that abundant life. Some
Christians, however, express doubt about whether such a life can actually be
experienced and sustained.
With the rise in the churches of
interest in real, scriptural revival has come concern in some quarters that
seeking and preaching revival might do us harm. Some voices express the fear
that a revival emphasis will bring disappointment that will hurt faith. Others
say that the emphasis breeds frustration, as Christians pursue ideals that are
never achieved. We are told by detractors of revival not to raise
expectations, or give weight to certain promises, or lead people to pray for a
new filling with the Spirit. Those who believe in revival, however, see such
concerns as rising from unbelief, and believe that the new interest in
God-given revival is a good thing for Bible-believing Christians, not something
dangerous. The truth is that the worries about revival talk come from doubts
that the abundant life is can be lived, that revival is achievable and
sustainable.
In the thirteenth through the
seventeenth chapters of the book of John, we read what Jesus said to His
disciples about what His followers can expect in the New Testament age. With
their Mediator seated at the right hand of the Father, believers have special
privileges in prayer. With the Spirit of God dwelling inside them, Christians
can expect supernatural enablement to fulfill their mission. The words of
Jesus in this important section of the Bible promise us a life of miracles
(John 14:12-14), victory (14:15-17), divine manifestation (John 14:18-23),
illumination of scripture (John 14:24-26), abiding peace (John 14:27), and spiritual
reproduction (John 15:1-12). These are the things Jesus told us to expect if
we will “abide” in Him, that is, live in complete submission to Him (See John
15:9-11). Revival preaching calls on Christians to live this way and to expect
these things. The question is whether such a life is really “do-able.”
Believers who seek revival in
their lives and in their churches will not be disappointed or frustrated if the
abundant life is do-able. Those who think that revival theology is
“train-wreck theology” (as somebody has called it) or that a revival emphasis
puts the congregation on a perpetual “guilt-trip” (as some critics have argued)
don’t think that the abundant life promised by the Lord Jesus is really
do-able. But Jesus certainly said that it is.
He summed up his description of
this life (described elsewhere in the New Testament as being “filled with the
Spirit”) in terms of friendship with Him (John 15:13-16), concluding with the
promise of productivity and miracles. This is the life He planned for us, and
therefore it is do-able. Since revival is achievable and can be sustained and
lived, we must take care to handle our talk about it with care.
Both proponents of the truth that
we can expect God to revive His people in response to their repentance and
faith, and those who deny this idea, must be careful not to act as if the
victorious life is beyond the reach of most believers. Even revival preaching
can sound as if the Lord expects things out of His children they can never give
Him. It is true that God does expect things of us that we cannot produce apart
from faith in Him for enablement. This is the message of the fig-tree that was
cursed for not bearing fruit even though “the time of figs was not yet” (Mark
11:12-14). We must have “faith in God,” (Mark 11:20-24), Jesus said, and the
life of faith will make do-able what living according to the flesh cannot do.
Preachers need to live the life of faith and be filled with the Spirit in order
to preach about these things, so that folks can believe they can live this way.
Opponents of revival need to be
careful about what they say. The concept of revival (when it is defined
scripturally) is that of God bringing His people back to spiritual health.
Sometimes we have confused revival with its results. New Testament
Christianity is such a powerful thing when it is lived that it always has a
mighty effect on the unconverted. The revival in times of widespread awakening
among the lost was not in the conversions but rather in the change in believers
that brought on the conviction and salvation of so many of the lost. The idea
that revival only happens as a sovereign act of God has no support in the
Bible. Although God is sovereign (and we are grateful that He is), everything
He does is not a sovereign act. The conditional promises of scripture say that
if men will do this, God will do that. In matters affected by a conditional
promise, God can be expected to do what He said He would do. If we confess our
sins, for example, the Lord is faithful to forgive us. About revival, God
says, “If my people…then will I,” and “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh
to you.” They are saying that it doesn’t matter if believers repent of their
sins or seek God’s face, He will not revive them (bring them back to spiritual
health) unless He has independently chosen to do it. Revival as an
unpredictable, unlikely event rather than the promised response from a God who
is ready to revive His people is not a teaching of the Bible. And the related
teaching that denies the do-ability of the Christian life as taught by Jesus is
virtually blasphemous.
At the end of His discourse and
before His prayer for us, Jesus said that His people have an opportunity to
live a better life (John 16:33).
“These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
We can live in Him and experience
“peace.” This is living by faith, walking in the Spirit, savoring the things
that be of God. Otherwise we will live “in the world” and experience
“tribulation.” This is living by sight, fulfilling the lust of the flesh, savoring
the things that be of men. Every Christian can learn to live in Jesus. Jesus
died, rose again, and ascended to Heaven in triumph so that we could have this
abundant life. It is the revived life, and it definitely is do-able!