Restore2Revive

Category: Life

  • Meeting with God

    There are many great stories throughout history that we can reflect on and be inspired by where the people of God encounter the power of God evidently at work accomplishing something of great significance in their city or nation.

    I love reading stories of historic importance from the past and this week as I have been reading Nicky Gumbles bible in one year, here’s a little taster from that of Duncan Campbell’s story during the 1949 revival. 

    The 1949 revival is one of the greatest revivals in the history of the United Kingdom that took place in the Hebrides. Duncan Campbell, the preacher at the centre of the revival, later described how it began.

    Seven men and two women had decided to pray earnestly for revival. One night, at a prayer meeting held in a barn, a young man took his Bible and read from Psalm 24;

    1The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
        the world, and all who live in it;
    2 for he founded it on the seas
        and established it on the waters.

    3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
        Who may stand in his holy place?
    4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
        who does not trust in an idol
        or swear by a false god.

    5 They will receive blessing from the Lord
        and vindication from God their Savior.
    6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
        who seek your face, God of Jacob.

    7 Lift up your heads, you gates;
        be lifted up, you ancient doors,
        that the King of glory may come in.
    8 Who is this King of glory?
        The Lord strong and mighty,
        the Lord mighty in battle.

    9 Lift up your heads, you gates;
        lift them up, you ancient doors,
        that the King of glory may come in.
    10 Who is he, this King of glory?
        The Lord Almighty—
        he is the King of glory.

    He shut his Bible and said: ‘It seems to me just so much sentimental humbug to be praying as we are praying, to be waiting as we are waiting here, if we ourselves are not rightly related to God.’ He asked God to reveal if his own hands were clean and his own heart was pure.

    That night God met with them in a powerful way. As they waited on God ‘his awesome presence swept the barn’. They came to understand that revival is always related to holiness. A power was let loose that shook the parish from centre to circumference.

    ‘Three men were lying on the straw having fallen under the power of God. They were lifted out of the ordinary into the extraordinary. They knew that God had visited them and neither they nor their parish would ever be the same again.’

    Four miles away, two sisters aged eighty-two and eighty-four had a vision of God. They saw the churches crowded and the youth and the community flocking into the churches. They had ‘a glorious assurance that God was coming in revival power’.

    Duncan Campbell was invited to come and speak to them. When he arrived in the parish church it was packed out, with hundreds waiting outside. No one could explain where they had come from. Within ten minutes of the service starting, men and woman were crying out to God. 

     They were meeting with God in all of His holiness.

    There was such a sense of the presence of God on the island that a businessman visiting said, ‘The moment I stepped ashore I was suddenly conscious of the presence of God.’

    God was meeting with His people.

    What an extraordinary privilege it is to meet with God. With the anticipation of the coming of Jesus once again we have so many opportunities to keep meeting with God as we continue to seek His face and approach Him with great confidence. Yearning not for what has happened in days long ago but desiring to linger, to wait and experience more of His holiness and His power at work in our lives today. 

    Let’s never stop meeting with God and never stop gathering with the family of God, for in all of those occasions we will encounter more of His presence and see more of His kingdom break through in these days.

    God still desires to meet with His people.

  • Playing it safe

    When was the last time you took a risk? I mean a really big risk that led you into a place where if God didn’t show up you’d be in trouble. With God life is full of adventure and we learn more and more about faith when we take risks. Not being afraid to fail or even be called a fool. It’s the fool bit that we may struggle with most. Nobody wants to be called a fool. Our pride often hinders us and the one thing that will always stop us from taking a risk – is fear!

    Fear will immobilise you – if you let it.

    Fear can set itself up in your mind as a giant – if you let it.

    It can trap you and box you in. It can come in many different disguises like the fear of man, a fear of sickness, a fear of dying, a fear of loneliness, a fear of rejection, and the fear of being let down, a fear of losing a loved one or financial ruin. Having a fear of failure can sometimes become emotionally crippling – if you let it.

    What aspect of fear is lurking at your door?

    What giant of fear are you struggling to overcome?

    There are many great stories in the bible that we can learn so much from and take encouragement as we face similar things in our lives even today. The life of David is one such example, someone who knew what it was like to see fear in the midst of the Israelite army.

    In the story of David and Goliath, the Philistine army had gathered for war against Israel. The two armies faced each other, camped for battle on opposite sides of a steep valley. A Philistine giant measuring over nine feet tall and wearing full armour came out each day for forty days, mocking and challenging the Israelites to fight. His name was Goliath. Saul the King of Israel and the whole army were terrified of Goliath.

    One day David, the youngest son of Jesse, was sent to the battle lines by his father to bring back news of his brothers. David was probably just a young teenager at the time. While there, David heard Goliath shouting his daily defiance and he saw the great fear stirred within the men of Israel. So David volunteered to fight Goliath.

    Can you imagine this for a moment? – David volunteered to fight – a shepherd with no experience – volunteered and he actually had the courage to go out and fight with the faith to win.

    It took some persuasion, but King Saul finally agreed to let David fight against the giant. Dressed in his simple tunic, carrying his shepherd’s staff, sling and a pouch full of stones, David approached Goliath. The giant cursed at him, hurling threats and insults. As Goliath moved in for the kill, David reached into his bag and slung one of his stones at Goliath’s head. Finding a hole in the armour, the stone sank into the giant’s forehead and he fell face down on the ground. David then took Goliath’s sword, killed him and then cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.

    In that moment fear was replaced by courage and a greater faith in God was imparted to the Israelite army.

    What courage David had and what an uproar he caused- David defeated the giant – which everyone feared because God was on His side.

    David knew what it was like to face a giant – fear, the prospect of failure and he wasn’t afraid to look like a fool before the multitudes. But what enabled David to have such courage, take such a risk and fight this battle in a way that was least expected and yet win?

    David’s faith in God caused him to look at the giant from a different perspective. Goliath was merely a mortal man defying an all-powerful God. David looked at the battle from God’s point of view.

    Maybe there is a need in our lives to look at the giant – fear – from a different perspective?

    If we look at giant problems and impossible situations from God’s perspective, we realize that God will fight for us and with us. When we put things in proper perspective, we can see more clearly and we can fight more effectively.

    God loves it when we step out in faith –when we put our whole trust in Him and if all else fails there is one thing for sure – His ways never fail and He will never let us down. But the reality in life is that not every step of risk taking will be a success but it doesn’t mean that we have failed either. God still loves us no matter what. Although sometimes the step of faith –can actually help to point us in another direction where another door of opportunity may open. But without taking the initial step of faith in the first place we would never know what would unfold.

    Could it be that one step of faith that doesn’t quite work out the way we expect could in  fact lead us into another step of faith – causing our courage to grow and our faith in God to flourish even more. God knows what He is doing with our lives even when we don’t fully understand.

    Here’s the thing – we will never know until we step out in faith and take a risk. We can trust God for each and every step of the way and in the really important decisions that we have to make. When we submit our will to our Heavenly Fathers will, we can have confidence to know He will lead us. He will guide us. He will take pleasure in teaching us. He will help us to overcome the giant of fear in our lives with greater courage. Even in our weakness we can be strong. Even when we stumble and fall – His grace carries us on.

    Over the course of the past year in my life and journey with God –I‘ve be learning much more about the importance of leaning in to the arms of Jesus and having daily intimacy with the father. The one thing that gives us the greatest confidence when facing our giant or having to make really important decisions in life, that involve big steps of faith and stepping out of our comfort zone, is that when we remain near to Him and have intimacy with the father – He will be near to us and we will hear His voice. He wants to speak to us –He wants to lead us – He wants us to listen to Him and He wants us to experience more and have a greater revelation of the father’s heart for us. He wants to ruin us with His love and affection.

    Like David, we too as the people of God can have great courage in the midst of fear – we can overcome the giants in our lives – because God is with us.

    We need to stop playing it safe – we need to believe that we too can overcome fear and step out in faith and enjoy being stretched into a place of knowing what it feels like – “if God doesn’t show up I’m in trouble”.

    Maybe you are facing a giant problem or impossible situation in your life right now?

    Remember God’s opinion is the only one that really matters and He wants you to see clearly from His vantage point. You have nothing to fear.

    Go on – take a risk – you will never know what God may have in store until you step out in faith and face that giant – fear!