“O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.” Habakkuk 3:2

   I hope your heart is filled with joy today! Not because something good has happened in your life, or that you won the lottery, or got a promotion, even a clean bill of health from your doctor, but because you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Who you know is alot more important than what you know!

   If you do have this joy, if you do know this Lord and Savior, you are experiencing God’s work in your life. God is at work all the time, He never sleeps nor slumbers the Bible says.

“Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalm 121:4

   One of the Lord’s greatest works is salvation! Salvation is God’s love with working britches on. Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, came from Heaven to Earth for one reason—to save us. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger and then stripped naked and nailed to across at Calvary. God’s work is not always pretty but it’s always perfect! God always does everything right, from creation to the cross, from resurrection to intercession. His miracles have made and keep making the difference in our  lives so much so that joy is the only way to describe such work.

   If we are not experiencing joy in our heart today, we may just need an attitude adjustment. It could be we are not sensing what God is doing in our lives. Actually, there is no way we can know this given the difference between us and the Lord Almighty. What matters though is that whatever is happening to us and around us has to come by God first. Since God is absolutely sovereign, everything that exists He either created or caused. Now what muddles an attitude of gratitude is having to deal with painful problems and losses and disappointments without the God factor.

   Now, it requires the Holy Spirit’s help, but we should and ought to respond to all our difficulties with this statement:

“...It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good.” 1 Samuel 3:18

When we do, we acknowledge that God is in charge, that we know He is involved in whatever is happening, and we know that He is going to do what’s best. In other words, we adjust our attitude to simply want what God wants! Theologically, we can call this submission. In everyday life, it’s called revival!

Revival works because It’s God’s work!

Revival is not the initial giving of life but is the increase of the evidence of life which already exists. A revival is the act, or work, of bringing something back to life or strength after a period of decline. It refers to a resurgence of interests, restoration and renewal. Although as  Christians we cannot lose our salvation, but we can and do often lose our interest in church, Bible study, and in God Himself. Sin is what causes this and is why daily confession of our sins is so needful. If we never cleaned the windshields of our cars and trucks we drive, we’d probably not be quite as interested in going places we once enjoyed going. Revival happens in a believer's life when we have a clear view of Jesus Christ, especially when we're going through tough times and challenging circumstances.

“And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.”John 20:20

Nothing revives a child of God anyvmore than salvation. Salvation is God’svwork and was manifested most magnificently on the cross of Calvary. Bugs and blunders along with the mud of mistakes can stick to our windshields of faith and blur ourvvision and distort our divine direction. God’s work of salvation is a finished work and assures each and every one of the elect family of Godveternal life and a perfect sinless position in Christ.

Election and predestination are not stoic or stale theological facts, but are the greatest reason for evangelism and revival. Knowing that God has saved sinners from every nation, race, creed and culture is exciting when it comes to sharing the gospel. It is like fishing in a pond that you know has lots of fish in it! The way you hold your pole is not nearly as important as the fish being there to bite the hook. In a similar way, it’s not so much how great the sermon is; rather, it’s the work of The Holy Spirit in the hearts of the listeners that will cause a hungry sinner to take the gospel — hook, line and sinker!

Revival works because we work.

As I write this newsletter, wildfires are burning in South Georgia, and in the aftermath, many people have lost their homes and most of their belongings. Our activities director at SPBC, Sister Melanie Nessmith, upon hearing of this tragic situation, went to work. She called a church in the fire affected area to find out the most major needs of the displace families. Then she sent out an email to our church requesting items needed to help the people who lost so much. And you, the church, responded by bringing provisions and money to the church where collection was made. I understand Melanie and Summer Hutchens delivered the aid to the contact church in the fire devastated area. Just hearing about the efforts of the church made my heart glad! There are lots of bigger churches than SPBC, but no place manifests what a Christian looks like more than was seen in the fire relief work done by you at SPBC.

Good works won’t get us to Heaven, but they sure bring revival! A Christian works because they are Christians, not in order to be Christians. Similarly, a bird flies because he is a bird, not to become a bird. Embracing the doctrines of grace gives us a sure hope and great rest, but shouldn’t rock us to sleep. God did something about our sin so that we could do something about our situation. People get up every morning to go to work in their secular jobs. They do so because they love their families and because they love their work. They also do it because it makes them feel better. Work really is divine therapy. A person who enjoys their work is truly a blessed person. It’s not necessarily all about how much money you make in your work, but how much  joy you find in doing what you do.

There is a lot of talk around the church about needing revival. Maybe we’re not experiencing revival because we’re lazy! God is not going to send revival to lazy people. Instead of whining about what we want, let’s try working for what we want, especially if it’s what God wants too. Haven’t you experienced revival when you visited someone in a hospital or nursing home or simply got it together and went to church? Although you  may not have felt much like doing it, after you did, you felt better about everything. It's easy to let our feelings fade our faith. And, if we only did what we felt like doing, we wouldn't do much that would amount to much anyway. Jesus Christ was  nailed to a cross not because He felt like it or wanted any glory as a martyr, but He did it to glorify God by finishing the work His Father gave Him to do on Earth. His perfect work is the basis for the greatest revival of them all, the Resurrection, and is a constant catalyst to prompt us to work for Him who died for us.

“But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” I Corinthians 15:10

Revival works because God is merciful.

Habakkuk’s prayer was anchored in the mercy of God. Although we deserve His wrath, because of Christ Jesus, we get His mercy. Jesus Christ took on the wrath of God for us and the cross of Calvary is the most prosperous, reviving work our Holy Heavenly Father ever performed. No matter how bleak and downcast we become because of sin or adverse situations we can’t seem to do anything about, God can make it work out just right and that should restore and revive our poor, destitute, beggarly souls every time. Things of life, human experiences, are always going to get better for Christians, not because they deserve it, but because God is a God of mercy. God always gives us something to look forward to and when it comes to right over wrong, God can make it happen!

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

The mercy of God brings revival in our personal lives when we consider His loving us when we were His enemies and rebellious sinners, yet now, by His grace, we are considered His workmanship, destined to perform good works for His glory and the good of others. It’s a sorry shame for a Christian not to be in revival at all times. This is true because of God’s mercy toward us, but also His work in us. Our spiritual importance of not only what God has done for us, but also what God has done to us!

Revival does not happen because there is an increased interest in religion, revival happens because God is at work! And the very fact that God does anything other than send us all to hell ought to be enough to keep us going in the right revival direction.

May the Lord help us and bless us to see His work in our lives today. We are spiritual beings, but we have human experiences. Sometimes we let the works of the world consume us. It’s far better to watch for God’s working things out and to trust His timing through it all too. Did you know that every time we pray or praise God, or read His word and not worry about our problems, proves that God is at work in our very hearts. So, even if we get distracted because of difficulties, or discouraged because of disappointments, God is not giving up on you and neither should we give up on Him!

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6

In Revival,

Brother Randy