???Revival???

What is revival? A simple definition is “to come alive again.” Revival is the spark, if you will, that starts the engine. The great evangelist Billy Sunday once said, “They say that revival is but temporary. So is a bath, but it does you good.”

I was thinking about revival being a spark and starting an engine and I couldn’t help but go down memory lane a little. My Papaw was a Pastor for over 40 years and he was a bi-vocational pastor for most of those 40 years. He was a mechanic by trade and he was a very good mechanic. He could take an old worn out engine and tinker with for a day or two and get it run when everyone else had given up on it. He was always working on some kind of engine. He is the one who explained to me how an internal combustion engine worked. Thinking about that is what brings me to our devotion today. You see there are many covers and plates and guards on todays engines that make them look more powerful or cooler than they really are. They hook up computer systems to allow the engine to run smoother at higher RPM’s for longer periods of time and maybe even get better gas mileage. The truth is that you can remove all the fancy covers and computers and the engine still take the same basic things to make it run as it ever did. Fuel, oxygen, pressure, and a spark. The engine block houses all the components and keeps them in place so that they all stay on track and in place and in time. Here we would call it the church. Inside the engine there is the crankshaft and the connecting rods that move the pistons that keep the engine going when supplied that right fuel and oxygen and spark. Then we have the camshaft that turns in time with crank shaft that moves the pushrods that pivot the rocker arms that open and close that intake vales that allow the oxygen in and the exhaust valves pushing the waste out. All of this is tied together with an electrical current from the battery that is set in time with mechanical movements of the engine to create a spark at just the right time to create power to run the engine. What really caught my attention was how the power was created under pressure. Never in the history of the Church has any revival started when everything was grand and glorious, that is the result of a revival not the need. Simply stated Revival comes when Gods people are under pressure and have need of a new spark.

You see the power is created within the engine cylinder and there are multiple cylinders each housing a piston, an intake and exhaust valve and an ignition source, The spark. The piston starts at the top of the cylinder, the intake valve opens and the piston moves down to let the engine take in a cylinder full of air and gasoline. This is the intake stroke. Only the tiniest drop of gasoline needs to be mixed into the air for this to work. Then the piston moves back up to compress this fuel/air mixture. Compression is what makes the explosion more powerful. When the piston reaches the top of its stroke, the spark plug emits a spark to ignite the gasoline. The gasoline charge in the cylinder explodes, driving the piston back down. Once the piston hits the bottom of its stroke, the exhaust valve opens and the exhaust leaves the cylinder to go out the tailpipe. Now the engine is ready for the next cycle, so it intakes another charge of air and gas. All this happens hundreds of times a minute causing the engine to create enough power to move a much larger automobile. Ok so this is all nice but how does this help me today? I’m glad you asked. Romans 8:28 tells us that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

You are the piston and the air and the fuel is written word of God. The spark is the holy spirit and the timing that keeps it all together is God’s plan for the kingdom. The enormous pressure that you feel from day to day is just the air and fuel mix preparing you for a spark from the holy spirit and the spark is all tied to God’s plan, you get it when you are in time with His plan. You can apply all the fuel and oxygen you want but spark to soon or to late and you will not get the power you need for the revival in your life. Get enough of us pistons firing in proper order and we will move the kingdom of God on earth like you have never seen before. Remember a pistons job is to push the air and fuel until it reaches it an point of optimum combustion. Your job is to devour the word of God and push it to the point of optimum combustion and allow the Holy Spirit to provide the spark. Embrace the pressure because the spark is coming it’s all in God’s time.