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09.07.2022

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Make Room – Acts 1:12-14

Whenever God moves in revival, it is always different than the way it happened before. Nobody gets into Narnia the same way twice.

That said, whenever God moves in revival, it is always the same as what happened before. In every time period, nation, culture, context, what we find in every revival is a repetition of the same things that have happened before.

Revival is a recovery of something that has been lost in the sands of time. Specifically, what we find in every revival is a repetition of what we see in the birth of the Church at Pentecost. 

In musical terms, revival is a remix. It is the same song…but played with a different arrangement, a new beat, a fresh feel, a fresh vibe. So as we pray for revival…we are praying for something that has, on the one hand, never happened before. Every revival is different and new. But on the other hand, we are praying for something that has happened many times. We are praying for God to take the same song he has been singing – the same song we will sing with him in the New Jerusalem – and to remix it with a fresh beat for our time and context. 

The revival that followed Jesus’ resurrection in the early church in Jerusalem after Pentecost gives us the structure and melody of the song. Even if we don’t know what the beat will feel like in our time, we know the song by looking at Acts 2. For the next several days, we will pray through what happened in the early Church and ask God to remix it in our time.

There are 7 elements of this paradigmatic revival.

  1. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching” – The scriptures came alive and the people received them, leading them to theological depth. 
  2. “They devoted themselves to…the breaking of bread…they broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” – The people experienced compelling and rich community life. 
  3. “The devoted themselves to…prayer” – The disciples experienced an increased commitment to prayer and an an upgrade in their rhythms and patterns of prayer
  4. “Everyone was filled with awe at the many signs and wonders performed by the apostles.” – The gospel was demonstrated and authenticated by miraculous works of the Holy Spirit, including the very same kinds of healing, deliverance, and prophecy that marked the ministry of Jesus. 
  5. “Everyone was filled with awe…every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts” – In Tim Keller’s words, the early Church experienced anointed worship. Their worship was marked by awe at the manifest or felt presence of God. While God is always present, sometimes he graces our gatherings with his Royal Presence.
  6. “The believers had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.” – Also in Keller’s words, the early Church demonstrated compassionate social concern. There was an awareness of needs in the community and a willingness to practice the kind of generosity that met needs and modeled God’s justice. This is a powerful witness to a watching world. 
  7. “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” – There was a culture of bold evangelism and proclamation of Jesus. Individual believers embraced their calling to share about Jesus with their friends and family and associates. The result was a movement where conversion was normal.

For prayer:

Where have you seen signs of these dynamics in your life or Sanctuary Church? Thank God for this and ask Him for more.

Which of these do you especially long to see more? Ask God to do it again in our time. As God to write a fresh remix of the song of Pentecost for Providence in 2022.

09.06.2022

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“Lord I have heard of your fame…” Habakkuk 3:2

Scholars believe Habbakuk wrote at the tail end of the 7th Century BC, as the Babylonian Empire was on the rise and marching towards Jerusalem. His book is an attempt to wrestle with God about the threat Babylon posed to Israel and her purposes the world. In this prayer, the prophet Habakkuk recalls God’s mighty works in the past, especially the Exodus of Israel from Egypt. As Babylon prepares to lay waste to Jerusalem as a means of God’s judgment, Habbakuk prays for God to renew his deeds and God’s fame. This is a prayer for revival. Habbakuk is aware of the weakened state of the people of God and of the need for God’s intervention to cleanse and redeem and empower them once again. And this is what we need today as well. The Church in our time, especially in the West, especially in New England, desperately needs God to intervene and pour out his life and power on us. 

Throughout history, the life of God’s people has never been a steady record of achievements…rather, like a sine wave, her life has ebbed and flowed in seasons of declines and renewals. Like gravity or entropy, the spiritual life of God’s people and the human race is subject to the decaying forces of sin and death. Over time, all societies decay spiritually…as ours certainly seems to be doing now. But because of his mercy, God intervenes in this downward spiral, sending his Holy Spirit to bring renewal. The story of the Bible and of Church history is a story of these renewals, some of which have happened in our own city. In 1820, a great revival swept Providence. And a significant percentage of the city came to a knowledge of Jesus and entered the church that year. 

We are in desperate need of revival today. The church is in a long season of decline in the West, stretching back to the revivals of the early 1970s. The affiliation with Christianity has declined faster in this past decade than at any point in our nation’s history. And these trends show no signs of abating. Our nation is seized by increasing anxiety and political polarization. We need God to show up, as Habbakuk did. The good news is that the Church, even in America, has been here before. There have been seasons of spiritual deadness and decay in the past. One example is the season in the late 1700s, after the American Revolution.  Here the French writer Voltaire famously predicted that Christianity would be dead in thirty years. The Church, however, began praying in earnest, asking God to renew his power and presence. Some churches in New England began prayer meetings that lasted 60 years until the Civil War. Essentially what they prayed is this: “God we want you here.” The result of this cry from the heart was, among other things, the Second Great Awakening. Waves of revivals lasting sixty years swept through the nation and gave us much we still hold dear…including the abolitionist movement, many of our colleges and universities, hospitals, charities, and the global missions movement. 

Prayer Prompt

It is time, like Habakkuk, for us to pray once again for God to renew his fame and deeds in our time. Over the next week plus, we are praying this prayer: “God, we want you here!” But we must mean it. We must pray this from the heart. Perhaps you feel apathetic as many of us do when we begin to fast and pray, that’s okay. Lean in and ask God to stir and awaken spiritual hunger in your hearts. Whether you feel it or not, you need more of God. So ask him for more.

God, I want you in my life. I want you in my family/my friends/my home church. We want you in our church. We need you in our city and nation. 

God comes where he is wanted. 

09.05.20221

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“This kind only comes out by prayer and fasting” – Mark 9:29

The disciples had just returned from a successful mission trip in which, among other things, they cast out all sorts of demons. But in this instance, they were not able to cast this demon out of this young boy…whereas Jesus casts it out with a word. Later, in private, the disciples ask Jesus “why couldn’t we cast it out.” Jesus’ response is that “this kind…only comes out by prayer and fasting.” 

At the gym, most of us are able to lift a 10lb weight…but a 200lb weight is a different story. It is the same in the spiritual world. Some breakthroughs do not require a great deal of spiritual power or authority. But a major breach of the spiritual status quo certainly does. The disciples were able to cast out lesser demons with a word, but this kind of demon required more power. Certain breakthroughs in the spiritual realm require a spiritual upgrade. Revival is one of these. To see our city renewed by God, we need more spiritual power than we presently have.

This is where prayer and fasting come in. Seasons of prayer and fasting are a form of consecration that increases and deepens our level of spiritual engagement with our lives and the world around us. Fasting with prayer was assumed by Jesus as a regular discipleship practice for his followers and it was a staple in Jesus’ life and the lives of the people of God throughout history. In our time many of us, especially in the stream of the church Sanctuary sits, have lost touch with these practices. When we fast and pray, we make room for God to pour out his power and blessing in our lives. It is a way to clear out space, and set ourselves apart, for more of God. It is a way of raising the sails of our souls and lives so that the wind of God can fill us with fresh power and move us into a new season, spiritually. 

Over the next two weeks, the Sanctuary leadership community is moving into a season of prayer and fasting. We invite you to join us. The fall is a time to hit reset and refresh and move into a new season. It is a time for us to launch or relaunch home churches, to prepare to reach out to newcomers, and to restart many important ministries in the church. We want to move into this season with our sails up, seeking God, ready to be filled with his power. Fasting and prayer are an important way to do this. And specifically, in this season, as we start the fall and pray into the plans and ministries of Sanctuary Church, we are also seeking him for revival. For a season of breakthroughs of God’s Kingdom in our lives, families, home churches, and our city. 

Next Steps

  • Consider what holy longings God is placing in you in the next season that you want to ask Him for as you fast and pray.
  • Consider how and when you’d like to fast.
    • skip a meal, or two a day for first seek.
    • consider a one day fast.
    • consider a longer fast – ask the Lord how long he is inviting you to fast.
  • Block off 30 minutes each day for prayer during First Seek – follow the prayer prompts on the website.
  • Consider joining us for one or more of these Heart nights (prayer and worship gatherings)

More Resources: