Living day to day in the Western world, it’s not difficult to get caught up in “the tyranny of the urgent.” Even as believers, our focus is often on what is in front of us at any given moment. But if we can be intentional enough to pause and set our minds on things above (Col.3:2), we cannot ignore that the Great Commission is not just a whisper but a shout that continues to echo throughout eternity.

Two of the most important questions we can consider as followers of Jesus are two questions He asked “Who do men say that I am?” “Who do you say that I am?” These questions are only answered through revelation from the Father. But often our lives, my life, is so busy, questions like this get pushed to the bottom of the list, and are constantly un-prioritized. If I’m perfectly honest, it doesn’t really beat for the lost. My personal agenda typically doesn’t include sharing the Gospel and laying down my life so that others might come to follow Jesus. There is no condemnation for me as a believer, I get that. But I want my paradigm to shift from living day-to-day with a temporal mentality, to the realization that when I gave my life to Jesus, I became part of a much bigger picture – an eternal reality!

Considering the history of revival is causing me to stop and take stock of my priorities, my day-to-day agenda, and to consider the movement of my heart; to ask the question, am I moving toward Jesus or away from Him? There is no such thing as standing still in the Kingdom. Considering revival also means considering what it would look like for me. What in my life needs to change to further align me with the Great Commission? My heart is bombarded with very real questions.
Am I willing to be uncomfortable?
Am I willing to be inconvenienced?
Am I willing to do things I’ve never done before?
Am I willing to confront my fears?
Am I willing to trust God with things I don’t understand and can’t see?

Our Western mindset can somehow persuade us that Jesus avoided darkness, when in fact, Scripture tells us that He ran toward it, He chose to be in it, and He loved all who were bound by it. “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Luke 5:32).

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17).  Jesus modelled a life of action for us. Culture sometimes gives us the impression that making mental assent to the teachings of Scripture is enough. But Jesus lived a life of action, following the Father every step of the way, and the things He did ushered the joyous reality of Heaven into our hopeless world. What does this mean for me, for you?

Revival says “GO.” Revival says “MAKE DISCIPLES.” Revival says “DO NOT BE AFRAID.” Revival says “YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESSES…TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.”
May our hearts be set aflame with the mandate the first disciples received, knowing that we surely overcome by the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony, and let us not love our lives unto death, knowing that Jesus is worth everything, including our very lives.  And we will be part of the culmination of the Great Story in the place where it all began, Jerusalem.