God Acting.

Martin Lloyd Jones.

Excerpt from "The Authentic Marks of Christianity"

Acts 4:13.

“REVIVAL IS GOD ACTING. A phenomenon; ordinary, ignorant, uneducated men and women speaking with boldness and working miracles. It is God’s power- that is Christianity. Christianity is not something I take up; It is not something that I grasp with my great mind. It is God dealing with me, changing me, giving me new birth, giving me a new life. A making new men and women of us. Christianity is not something that you add on to your life; It changes the whole of your life beginning at the center. It is not an addendum or an appendix; It is not an afterthought or something you do on Sundays. It is not something you take up and put down. No, Christianity is a power that changes men and women through and through.”

Lloyd Jones taught and preached in central London in the heart of the 1900's. He preached 120 sermons on the Bible book of Acts on Sunday evenings at Westminster Chapel from 1965-1968. He wrapped up his teaching from the book of Acts right around when I was born.

Revival is God acting. From noun to verb. Revival, noun. God acting, verb. That's what Lea said to me when we were talking recently. I think about revival a lot. Simply because I need it. But what I need is not revival, noun, predominantly. I need revive, action verb. Asaph says it in Psalm chapter 80, verse 18 in the Bible. "Revive us and we will call on Your name." God revives me first to have any kind of spiritual pulse for anything. I don't believe I call on the name of the Lord on my own apart from the stirring work of the Spirit of God. Dead is dead is dead even right in the middle of living my American life.

Dead needs red. The blood of Christ sparks new life right out of not even knowing I'm dead. Revive us! Revive me! And then we will call on Your name. And then live out of being revived! Your ordinary, ignorant, uneducated self living in miraculous boldness. How? The way you talk to each other. The way you relate with each other. The way you sacrifice for each other. The way you invest in each other. The way you bless each other. The way you bless God. All of these are bold miracles because you can't do them dead.

And what does it look like? Lloyd Jones. "It is God dealing with me, changing me, giving me new birth, giving me a new life." One dimensional words on a screen exploding into your life. This is what He does. He deals with you and I. Oh, does He ever. He changes us. Crazy reality. We don't have to stay dead! He revives and we live. New life from new birth. Don't separate this thought away from the best of thoughts about a child or grandchild being born. For some, the excitement of a new life being birthed is the pinnacle of the fruit of your lives. If it's brilliant like this for us on a struggling, sin marred planet, what of God birthing new life in you and me?

And....new life for what? The way you talk to each other. The way you relate with each other. The way you sacrifice for each other. The way you invest in each other. The way you bless each other. The way you bless God. Remember those? Still those same, bold, miraculous, revived life realities.

It is God's power, Christianity.

It is.

Power to....

Talk.

Relate.

Sacrifice.

Invest.

Bless.

Revived.

Dealing with us and changing us.

There's more.