Love Has a Name

I was sitting on my couch one afternoon while listening to Francis Chan share a message with a bunch of students from an American college. He was sharing how excited he was feeling that the college students were feeling on fire to spread the Gospel around the world as missionaries.

He continued on a few different topics, however one of them really caught my attention. Movements, fads and revival!

A mentor to Pastor Francis Chan shared that he had spent a lot of time studying the rise and fall of various revivals or revival attempts and multiple Christian movements throughout time.

Chan’s mentor shared, “the reason that movements are born is because someone really knows Jesus.” He continued, “the reason that movements die is because the followers only learn to really know the leader, but not Jesus.”

Revival is a really exciting word and with it brings an image of stadiums full of people praising Jesus, nations being transformed and countless people being saved and healed of brokenness. It is an incredible and thrilling word.

However, when not executed correctly, what is often sought after in revival is the revival itself. People come because of the hype and the excitement to see miracles, to see people transformed and to experience Jesus, not to form relationship with Him. We become more excited to see what Jesus can do FOR us instead of seeking to be in relationship WITH Him.

Now don’t get me wrong, revival, worship, community can all be amazing. However if we do these things and do not seek Jesus then we labour in vain. Scripture is clear that we must abide in Jesus and He will abide in us. Having a deep, intimate, loving relationship with Jesus is the single most important thing.

There is no other God, no other deity, ever, that forms relationship with humans, with mortals, not to mention died for them, for us. Jesus Christ is the only God, ever, that has done this.

We continue to seek out this relationship and as we abide deeply in the vine that is Jesus Christ we will then experience a true revival.

My prayer for revival is where the true leader is Jesus Christ and where the earthly leader, or revival initiator, cares only for the name of Jesus to be glorified. I would love to see a revival where the leader is anonymous and noone knows his or her name name.

I am curious what reaction a people would have if they did not know the name of the Pastor but gleefully shared that Jesus is their pastor and the person who speaks is just a voice who shares God’s message.

Collosians 3:1-4 (NIV) makes this abundantly clear:

“3 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

When we place more importance and value in the things of this world, including people like leaders, pastors and those with power and authority, than we do on knowing Jesus Christ we in turn receive nothing but an empty experience.

We do not gain anything, receive anything nor do we come into relationship with Jesus because of an experience. Yes, it may be a piece of how we learn to love Jesus and learn to know more about Him, but, the experience in and of itself is not God and does not have the power to save. They are but conduits in helping us see the light.

As we seek and strive to bring Jesus into our hearts, mind and soul and do it with all our strength we fulfill the very same command… to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul strengh and mind. (Luke 10:27)

When all that we do glorifies the Lord it will in turn will cause a deeply rooted, powerful and lasting revival for Jesus Christ.

After all, the reason that the message of Jesus is not dead after 2000 years is because those who began the ultimate revival in all of history walked with, ate with and slept with Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

They knew him, they did not simply hear and then utter his name. Born out of this relationship with Jesus came the biggest, loudest and strongest revival to ever be seen on the face of the earth.