5 QUESTIONS

EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD ASK

(Gleaned from godly J.I. Packer - almost 40 years ago)

Years ago when I was still a Bible College student I heard the then young and godly J.I. Packer speak about revival.    It had a powerful impact upon me and I have been seeking revival in my own life, my church and my country ever since.    I remember that he spoke one day on the common occurrences demonstrated in every Word centred revival throughout history. I can’t remember all he said but I did scribble down some rough notes on the back of an envelope and they have been guidepost for my life these past 40 years.    I look into my life and say "Lord, are these signs of revival found in my life?"

I do remember him saying that "revivedness is to be a constant experience" in the believer’s life.     It is so easy for us in our comfortable North American Christian culture to just cost, to walk through the motions without experiencing a rich spiritual life.    We can have a form of godliness but lack the power of the real thing.    That’s not what I want and I know that’s not what you want either.

Let me pose some of those common occurrences in revival in the form of questions that you and I can ask ourselves to see if indeed we are experiencing revival on a daily basis. These questions are not meant to discourage us or to make us so introspective that we are depressed but rather as a way of examining ourselves to see if we are in the faith and living in rich spiritual vitality. (1)

I find it helpful to once or twice a year take a morning and just get away by myself with God to honestly ask myself these questions.    Sometimes it leads to a time of confession and repentance and always to a time of thanksgiving and praise to God for His mercy and Grace and a cry that He might revive my heart.    Are you ready?   Here are 5 Questions Every Christian should ask.

1. Am I Keenly Aware Of God’s Manifest Presence?
Every great revival in history has been characterized by a dynamic manifestation of the presence of God.    In revival, you know when God shows up. I’m not talking about weird stuff (2)

Someone has said that if the Holy Spirit was removed from the North American church we’d hardly notice the difference. We can accomplish much with our planning and our money and our organization.
 
There is what we call the General Presence of God.    We know that God is everywhere and therefore we are never out of His presence.     However, we don’t always know or experience what is often called God’s Manifest Presence.    This is the special and very real presence of God available for all His people.  You know you are in God's presence.

Often we are not aware of His presence, not in our private lives and quite often, not even in church. When was the last time you were in church and you just knew God was there in a powerful way that moved your heart and exalted His name.

I ask myself,  am I keenly aware of God’s presence in my life?    Am I experiencing Him in a real and personal way?    Do I see His supernatural activity in my life?    When I don’t it’s probably a sign that something is not right in my life or that God needs to get my attention and I need to be on my knees and find out why.

2.  Am I Dliberately Responsive To God’s Word?
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Heb 4:12-13)

Is it not possible for me to become so accustomed to reading and hearing the Word of God that I become tone deaf to it – to not allow it to pierce my soul and transform my life?    We have every kind of study bible and bible study helps but when was the last time you heard from God as He spoke deep into your heart through His word?    Are you sensitive to allow the Spirit to use it to convict and transform your life?  Is it not possible for me to become so accustomed to reading and hearing the Word of God and even preparing sermons and writings,  that I become tone deaf to it – to not allow it to pierce my soul and transform my life?    We have every kind of study bible and bible study helps but when was the last time you heard from God as He spoke deep into your heart through His word?    Are you sensitive to allow the Spirit to use it to convict and transform your life?

Every Great Revival In History Is Accompanied By A Deliberate Response To God’s Word.   I am convinced that if there is to be revival in our own hearts, in our church, and in our land then it is God’s people who must have this deliberate responsiveness to God’s Word.    I don’t know that it is something we can just work up within our hearts.    It may be that here too we’ve got to get down on our knees before God and cry out to Him to make our hearts sensitive to His Word that He might make the Word come alive for us.    The Bible is not just a religious book, it is God talking to you.

Sometimes my prayer is "Lord, is my heart sensitive to your Word. Do not let me grow cold and indifferent." 

3.  Am I Sensitive To Sin In My Life?
Does it not make sense that if we are walking hand in hand with a Holy God, if He resides in us by the person of His Holy Spirit, that we would have a sensitivity to sin in our lives.

Statistics tell and experience verifies that so many who claim the name of Christ seem to posses no sensitivity to sin and our lifestyle differs very little if at all from the unbelievers around us.    Rather than being salt and light in the world, and being in the world but not of the world, we seem so often to be pressed into the worlds mould.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, these things ought not be so.   In every Revival people become sensitive to the Holiness of God and therefore become Sensitive to Sin In Their Own Lives.   I am amazed that even in my own life I have allowed things to creep in that I wouldn’t have allowed years ago.   We’re not talking about legalism here, we’re talking about holiness. (3)

It is said that in the Welsh revivals - the bars had to close because they lost patrons who were being converted and the mules in the mines didn’t know how to respond to the new cleaned up language of the miners.

At least once a year I get alone for a day and pray through Psalm 51, David’s prayer of repentance.    I don’t cheat on my wife.    I have no temptation to steal money.   There’s no sin of flesh that shows up in my life but, crud builds up in my life.    I have to deal with the inner stuff, the attitude stuff the relational stuff, the pride stuff etc.    I reflect on every phrase of Psalm 51 and ask the Holy Spirit to deal with my sin.

Let me ask you?   Are you sensitive to sin in your life or have you allowed yourself to be desensitized by the culture around you?    Have you become slack in your holiness?    Does your heart need to be revived.


4.  Am I Demonstrating Genuine Holiness? The opposite of sin of course is Holiness.    Holiness is not a list of do’s and don’ts.   It is genuine separation of our lives for God.    The word "holy" means to be ‘separate’. Specifically to ‘separate’ for God’s use.    It’s the same idea as the articles in the temple that were set aside exclusively for God and service to God.

Did you know that when God saved you, He saved you and set you apart for His exclusive use.    You are not even your own.    Your life is not about your comfort and your fun.    It’s about God’s glory and anything you think say or do that is outside of the character of God and not for His glory is unholy.

An  even more accurate illustration of holiness would be the phrase ‘a cut above something.’
When we find a garment or another piece of merchandise that is outstanding, that has a superior excellence, we use the expression that it is ‘a cut above the rest.    One Who Is Holy Is Uniquely Holy, with No Rivals or Competition.

I ask myself, does God have any rivals, any competitors in my life?    Is there anything that is drawing me away from Him or from reflecting Him in the world?    What’s your consuming passion?  Is it the internet, video games, football or whatever? (4)     The real question is, is Jesus Christ your all consuming passion?


5.   Am I Bearing Fruit?

If the life of Christ is being allowed full expression in your life and you are filled with the Holy Spirit then there will be fruit.    No if ands or buts.    Oh sure, we are a work in progress and there is growth to be taking place, but, are we increasingly bearing the fruit of Christlikeness?    Are we becoming more godly.(5)

Let me ask you something,   Are you passionately seeking to be like Christ?    I don’t mean are you casually trying to live the good Christian lifestyle.    I mean are you passionate, fully committed, to become like Jesus.    Are you looking to be a radical follower of Jesus.(6)

When genuine revival happens in our lives the fruit of the Spirt will be powerfully demonstrated in our lives.(7)

Brothers and sisters, how is it with you?    How is it with me?    Is the fruit of the Spirit showing up increasingly in our lives?    Don’t assume that because you’ve been a Christ follower for a long time that you don’t need this anymore that you’re good.    There is for example always that new unlovable person who comes into your life that drives you back to your knees to ask God to fill and control you heart that you might love like Jesus loves.

I want to live in that "constant state of revivedness" because I believe that’s where God wants me to live, in the abundant life.(8)    But I don't, I want to, but I don't always, and so I ask myself these five questions that I believe every Christian should ask as we examine our lives before the face of God.    Not legalistically,  but out of a sincere heart that wants to follow Jesus as closely as humanly possible.

God bless you friends as you seek His face and experience abundant living every day.

Pastor Rick

(1)  2 Corinthians 13:5-6        Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about           yourselves,   that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.

(2)   It is true that whenever God does a genuine work, the evil one will have a counterfeit. In that sense even true word centre revival experiences some "weird stuff" as well as genuine expressions of God’s dynamic presence.  John and Charles Wesley had differing opinions on how to handle the unusual manifestations that took place in their meeting and whether or not these were of God.

(3)  One of the books I want to real soon is Kevin DeYoung’s new book "The Hole In Our Holiness."

(4) It’s not that these things are sin in and of themselves but what grip do they have on our lives. There are other things of course like lying, stealing, porn etc. that are sin.

(5)  Godliness = 'god like' - taking on and displaying the character of God

(6)  Two other books recently on the market I’d like to read are "Radical" by David Platt and "Not A Fan" by                  Kyle Idleman

(7)   Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

(8)  I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10)