Revival of Joy

We need to do a little recap. We have covered how we can have hope and peace in Christ and only in Christ. We have used the example of the people of Israel and their cycle of blessings, self-reliance, failure, seeking redemption, and finding restoration all in the grace of God. We have used their example and taken a look at our own lives and in the life of the Church. We even picked out a few good stories on the Christ-like jolly St. Nicolas. Today we are lighting the fourth candle on the Advent wreath, which is joy. Joy, like peace and hope, can be found at its greatest most pure form in Christ alone.

It is hard to tell someone to have joy when there is nothing that the person finds joyful. This is why telling someone to be happy, honestly does not work.

Pray and Read Psalm 126

Psalm 126 NRSV

A Song of Ascents. When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the Negeb. May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy. Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.

Biblical Explanation

This Psalm was likely written during the time of the prophet of Ezra when they Hebrew people were returning to their homeland after living in exile for 70 years. So, it is easy to see why they were joyful! They were able to see their homeland again. To be in the land that the Most High God has for you after a long time away would lead to a feeling of restoration, because promises are being restored.

Yet, reading Ezra and Nehemiah tells us exactly what they returned home to. All of their homes had burned down, the buildings where their parents and grandparents had congregated and fellow-shipped were gone. I am sure, there were still blood stains on some of the rocks and rumble left behind. It was not a very joyful sight. Yet, they found a glimmer of hope, a little peace and security, and reasons to find joy. They asked God to keep restoring them, to keep reviving their land. Things may not be the same, but they would rebuild. They knew that they were in a time of revival.

When we think about the word Revival, we think of the old campground worship services. We think of fiery preaching, the old hymns sung fast and loud, and people coming from miles to stand outside the tent to hear the good news. We recollect on times past, even if we did not live in them ourselves, as times of strong morals and the whole community coming together to serve one another and fellowship face-to-face. Those memories are beautiful, and it would be wonderful if we witnessed such times.

However, has there ever been a time in the history of the world where there was nothing but great joy? In your life, has there ever been a time when you had nothing but great joy and things just seemed absolutely perfect? If you are so blessed to answer yes to that question, for how long did that joyous time last? My point is that there is no such thing as perfect joy in this world. Just maybe joy isn’t something that can be attributed to all that is going on around us. Maybe joy can not be manufactured, planned, or forced in some way.

Story of Revival

Some of us have gone to revival services in the past. There are still churches who schedule Revivals, call in out-of-town preachers, and meet at night hoping that people from the community other than the members will attend and come to know Christ for the first time. Unfortunately, in this day and age, scheduling Revival services don’t produce the same results as they once did. Once upon a time, people would go to revivals because it was a community service and kind of expected. This was the only way someone could hear the Good News, and people knew they wanted to hear some good news. Things are different in this day and age. The good news that people want to hear is not something that is supernatural or spiritual. People want good news that feel tangible, present and easily seen. Things that are not seen, or provable, don’t bring joy it seems. But let’s not fault the people of this day and age. We are people of this day and age, this is our present age. After all, maybe it isn’t just the peoples fault. Some fault has to lie with the Christian people. How can we expect to plan and make something happen that is strictly of God? After all, isn’t it God in which we find the ultimate hope, peace and joy? Isn’t it with God that salvation has come for all of creation? How about we stop planning for revival, hoping for revival, scheduling revival services, and start proclaiming revival and praying for revival. What would happen if we declared the Good News of Jesus coming now, out loud, everywhere we go instead of expecting people to come here to hear the good news!

God, please finish what you started.

Holy Spirit prayer for revival. The risky, outpouring of desire to see our church impact the community in a way that we never have before, and in a way that the community needs. We are praying for revival and restoration. In Jesus Name. Amen.