Revival seems to be coming on strong in the world!
There are mass baptisms going on, the Turning Point USA movement has been growing exponentially, and numerous high profile public personas are proclaiming their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
That’s all great, right?
Yes, but one thing the Bible as well as history shows is is this: Faith only matters when it endures.
Yes, faith needs to be robust and resilient to be worthy of the Name of the Christ!
Two Miles Wide, an Inch Deep
As someone who has been counseling people spiritually and teaching Bible for a few decades—may I share what I perceive is the greatest threat to the current revival?
The current revival, while showing much noise and spectacle—is shallow. It is like a beautiful lake that is two-miles wide, but only an inch deep. It will soon dry up, for it lacks the depth to survive and be life giving in its current state.
It is a symptom of our times—people strongly believe they know something when they only know a little bit about something. The current revival, as much as I love it, will crash to a halt—or worse, become a demonic crap-storm.
Why? Because of a long-trend in our society.
A Zeal Lacking Knowledge
The Apostle Paul sadly noted that Israel in his day had a zeal for God, but sadly it was lacking in a knowledge of him:
For I bear witness that they (Israel) have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. (Romans 10:2)
Too often the faith we are seeing is based on just a desperate desire for something else in a depressing time. Perhaps it is the Holy Spirit that is leading people into a new faith—but if the zeal of this new revival is to continue and grow into a mature and resilient faith, something more is needed than just raw emotionalism.
Self-Idolatry with Jesus Words
In the words of Paul above, he goes on to inform us of the problem of a zeal without knowledge:
For being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. (Romans 10:3)
Although the Spirit may be leading people toward a faith in Christ, at some point each of us must seriously seek the righteousness of God as it is revealed.
The Bible is the revelation of God. That does include the truth that he inspired it, but that the whole of it reveals who he is, and thus it also teaches us his glorious righteousness, awesomeness, and love.
The problem with too many of us believers today is that our faith has been imparted to us by others—we have not gone into the revelation of God and seriously devoured it ourselves. We have followed the societal trend and embraced some Jesus words that sound or feel good to us.
It is a sad from of self-idolatry. In biblical terms, we end the doing what is right in our own sight.
We have believed what we have heard that sounds good to us.
The current revival tends to be a zeal without knowledge—the very thing Paul sadly noted was true of Israel in his day.
Solution: Don’t Read the Bible!
A lot of good folks confess “I know I should read my Bible more.”
I tell them not to just read.
Instead, sit and have a conversation with God. The Bible is God’s custom designed convo with you and all of his beloved children.
And therein lies the challenge today of developing a mature and resilient faith: We are in a non-reading culture.
Because of television, electronic devices, and e-readers we have become a spoken-word society. Our reading on devices is shallow and results in little comprehension. There are too many distractions (notifications popping up) and temptations (swiping left when a text gets too heavy to watch a funny video instead) for us to ever get into hearing from our Abba Father through his sacred writings.
Thus, we are biblically illiterate.
To be biblically illiterate is to have a “zeal…not according to knowledge.” Thus we will seek to establish our own righteousness based upon our loose but blasphemous ideas of what God is actually like.
Our faith will be weak. It will not survive the spiritual storms which are sure to come.
For a Lasting Resilient Revival
If you want a rock-solid and growing faith, you need to get control of electronic devices and become a disciplined student of the Word of God. Do not rely on a dynamic speaker or writer (that includes me), although such people may be very helpful at times.
Instead, endeavor to become a lifelong and dedicated student of our Father in heaven, through the inspired and holy Word.
This is complex, for most of us are seriously addicted to our smartphones, televisions, and dynamic speakers.
It can be a tough road out of addiction and into daily serious convos with God, but for a more complete path to success, get my book Superhero: Being Who God Says You Are at this link.
The path of following God, as Jesus noted, is narrow—and few find it.
Be one of the few.
(Image by Shutterstock/MIA Studios)
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