REND THE HEAVENS (Personal Reflection)

Lord, let me live to see revival

The dark retreating from the dawn

Throwback the curtains, let the light come pouring in

Flood our desperate hearts

Flood our desperate hearts

Lord, rend the heavens and come down

Till all the earth is holy ground

Let it rain, let it rain

Send revival

And as we pray and seek Your face

Abandon all our wicked ways

Let it rain, let it rain

Send revival now

Lord, let me live to see the harvest

We’ll reap the joy the tears have sown

We’ll see the prayers of generations come to pass

And Your kingdom come

Oh, let Your kingdom come

I want to see the signs and wonders that You promised

I want to see Your sons and daughters running home

I want to see the world on fire for You, Jesus

Have Your way, have Your way

I want to see an army rising from the dry bones

I want to see Your power moving through the streets

Till every heart and soul on earth belongs to Jesus

Have Your way, have Your way

Have Your way, have Your way

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I always love when my favorite artists release new songs and today, Rend Collective is releasing their new album entitled, "CHOOSE TO WORSHIP." They are one of my favorite bands, if not my all-time favorite, which is not a surprise considering this is the third song of theirs I have written personal reflections on recently (Links: BOLDLY I APPROACH and WEEP WITH ME). This particular video is brilliantly cast considering the context and atmosphere surrounding. Here we have the lead singer of one of the most popular bands in Ireland and Christian music universal, playing solo acoustic (anonymously) on the streets of his home country, and singing to the Lord for spiritual revival in front of a popular, Irish pub. Pay attention to how many people walk by unbeknownst to the prayer being offered on their behalf, hurrying on their way without the slightest regard for what is happening. In many ways it is a sobering picture of our world today, where opportunities to praise and worship God are rejected in favor of personal agenda. It echoes a harsh reality Paul warns about to those who ignore the divinity of God all around them. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse" (Romans 1:18–20). There is no denying millions of souls will spend eternity in hell separated from God because they have CHOSEN to reject Him by dismissing (at a minimum) the reality of creation which He spoke into existence. However, there are those who blatantly reject the Bible outright even after receiving divine revelation of its meaning as well. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15), yet countless people deceive themselves by believing they can follow Jesus without endorsing what Scripture says in it's entirety. How can this be?  

"But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance" (2 Peter 3:8–9). What an incredible promise of God's immeasurable love for His children! However, His salvation invitation comes with an expiration date based on our mortality, if we're not careful. Scripture warns, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed" (2 Peter 3:10). Let us be clear. Revival is not only needed outside of our religious walls but inside the church as well. Far too many self-proclaimed Christians are in need of a complete reboot and spiritual awakening through the power of God's Word, yet it is increasingly popular for people to choose His love over His wrath because they want to disregard His wrath as absolute. The growing secular belief infiltrating the church today is that God's wrath is an Old Testament doctrine, used by fire and brimstone preachers like Jonathan Edwards and Charles Spurgeon, to scare unbelievers into repentance for their sins to avoid burning in hell for eternity. Therefore, more and more people are buying into the lie that God's wrath is irrelevant and outdated compared to today's more educated, post-modernistic culture. However, this completely negates the fact that without God's wrath, His love would be meaningless. Please don't miss this. God's love is amazing BECAUSE His wrath demands our sins be judged, and the cross Jesus died upon is the bridge which connects the two. "For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:3–4). What we must reconcile in our hearts is whether we're foolish to presume we can separate Jesus from His Word. Scripture plainly states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1), yet people are rejecting that absolute truth more and more. Why? 

Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished" (Matthew 5:17–18). Therefore, we can be clear everything written in the Old Testament is true and applicable in the past, present and future. Jesus did not contradict or abolish the Law when He came to earth to die for our sins. Rather, He fulfilled what the Law demanded to appease God's wrath on our behalf. Yet even though the truth and reality of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection is right before our eyes, many continue to rebel against God's Word, as if we could pick and choose what is relevant in the Bible and what is not. Why? Truth be told, people are simply scared of owning their sins if they concede God's Word is indeed absolute truth, which explains why love is overwhelming embraced and solely focused upon at the expense of wrath. "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:12–13). Bottom-line, God's holiness magnifies our sin and convicts our hearts, which is why it should come as no surprise that God's love is the exclusive focus of so many self-proclaimed Christians' theology, to appease their minds and justify their sinful behavior as righteous. My brethren, let us not be so naive, for God's love is made possible because of His wrath! "So then each of us will give an account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12). "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil" (2 Corinthians 5:10). That is why revival is so desperately needed in the church today, to reprogram our hearts and minds to embrace God's absolute truth rather than appease our personal preferences, which water down our faith and sway our hearts' desire toward our flesh.

"Lord, let me live to see revival. The dark retreating from the dawn. Throwback the curtains, let the light come pouring in. Flood our desperate hearts, flood our desperate hearts." Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines revival as a "return, recall or recovery to life from death or apparent death; return or recall to activity from a state of languor; recall, return or recovery from a state of neglect, oblivion, obscurity or depression; renewed and more active attention to religion; an awakening of men to their spiritual concerns." What a powerful picture we've been painted, yet what does it mean spiritually? Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’" (Matthew 7:21–23). To assume any of us will enter the kingdom of heaven one day without true, Biblical repentance and heart transformation is foolishness. For we were not created to live independent from God, but dependent on His wisdom in relationship with His Son and Holy Scripture. That is the beauty of saving faith vs. religion, false religion, or any other method of self-preservation known to mankind. Saving faith provides unconditional access to intimate communion with God 24/7/365. For there is nothing in this world that can truly satisfy our heart's desire, which is why Solomon declared after exhausting all of life's pleasures, "I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind" (Ecclesiastes 1:14). Yet what did Solomon conclude at the end of His life? "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14). The call for God to flood our desperate hearts is made possible only through the cross of Calvary. Therefore, we must cling to His Word with complete abandon, allowing His absolute truth to illuminate our minds and cast away the darkness which seeks to undermine our faith.

"Lord, rend the heavens and come down till all the earth is holy ground. Let it rain, let it rain. Send revival. And as we pray and seek Your face, abandon all our wicked ways. Let it rain, let it rain. Send revival now." The word choice of "rend" for this chorus is incredibly powerful if we understand its meaning and context. Scripture declares, "Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence—as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil—to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence!" (Isaiah 64:1–2). The ESV Study Bible states, "Isaiah sees the heavens as a vast curtain, concealing God, and begs God to rip them apart and step down into this world with his felt presence." If we compare what Isaiah is saying with wisdom the prophet Joel recorded, we begin to see how Jesus is the bridge between heaven and earth, love and wrath, purifying our hearts through the power of His blood. "'Yet even now,' declares the LORD, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.' Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster" (Joel 2:12–13). I cannot help but consider the great flood of Noah's day, which destroyed all semblance of corruption and violence in the world at that time. "Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth" (Genesis 6:11–12). In His wrath, God used the flood (physical water) to purify the earth, and we are wise to recognize how passionately God opposes sin and why we must learn from the mistakes of our forefathers. Therefore, we must seek the Lord, turn aside from our wickedness, and pray for a revival of His holiness (spiritual water) to flood our hearts and cleanse our iniquity, which His Word promises He will do because He loves us. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

"Lord, let me live to see the harvest. We’ll reap the joy the tears have sown. We’ll see the prayers of generations come to pass and Your kingdom come. Oh, let Your kingdom come!" How precious that day will be when we stand upon the mountaintop and look back upon our lives, testifying to God's faithfulness through the years. It will be like a thread weaving back and forth through the years, connecting moments we never understood or even recognized which led us to faith and repentance. What a glorious day that will be! We know from Scripture the litmus test of our faith hinges upon our heart's devotion to God, demonstrated by casting off the desires of the flesh and replacing them with the fruits of the Spirit. That is the essence of reaping what we sow and gleaning a harvest of lawlessness or righteousness based on our thoughts and actions. "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Galatians 5:19–24). In other words, if we live to serve our own desires to the detriment of our faith, we will reap the wrath of God. However, if we endure trials for our sanctification and honor the Lord by clinging to our faith rather than resenting or denying it, we will reap the same harvest passed down through the generations from Abraham to today, testifying to God's faithfulness. It is metaphorically a picture of saving fruit produced by the light of His grace and washed by the tears of our repentance. "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matthew 3:8).

The whole point of revival is taking back what the enemy has stolen and returning to the Lord. Just like the prodigal son who recognized the error of his ways, God waits patiently to restore our hearts if we would humble ourselves and seek His face. That is why Joel 2:25 is such a beacon of hope for those of us who have fallen away from our faith and long for restitution with God. "I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you" (Joel 2:25). Let us be clear that while the Lord is a God of wrath who judges the sin of the world, He is also a God of love who desires to redeem His people. "From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’" (Malachi 3:7). That is why Jesus was sent by God in human form to die a sinner's death on our behalf, though He knew no sin. "But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:5–6). By the power of Christ's blood, we are set free from the bondage of sin and given eternal life, but we must accept that gift by grace through faith alone, relinquishing full control of our lives to God and making Him Lord of our hearts. It is a tough decision though for some, because they disregard the gravity of the situation and assume they can live for themselves and simply call upon God at the last minute for salvation. Hence why revival begins with the body of Christ, first in our hearts to reconcile ourselves to the Lord, but more importantly, to share the Good News of Jesus' sacrifice to those who continue to live for themselves, oblivious to the eternal ramifications of their rebellion towards God. "Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed" (Romans 2:4–5).

"I want to see the signs and wonders that You promised. I want to see Your sons and daughters running home. I want to see the world on fire for You, Jesus. Have Your way, have Your way. I want to see an army rising from the dry bones. I want to see Your power moving through the streets till every heart and soul on earth belongs to Jesus. Have Your way, have Your way." For those of us who have surrendered our hearts to God, revival shifts our life's purpose from living for ourselves to serving the Lord and His sovereign will. "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). That is what enables us to embrace the words of this bridge with conviction and clarity as our own prayer anthem. To call upon the Lord to rend the heavens means we are willing to endure whatever comes our way, trials and persecution included, so that the world would reconcile itself to God by embracing the cross of Christ for salvation. "Know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other" (Deuteronomy 4:39). Rend the heavens is not a cry for our personal benefit, but the eternal benefit of others, that they might accept God's love through the cross of Calvary rather than reject His grace and choose His impending wrath and judgment instead. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23–24). That is the Good News we proclaim! However, many will fail to hear God calling their name because their ears are drowned out by the noise and confusion of this world. Just as Chris Llewellyn of Rend Collective proclaimed revival on the streets of Dublin in this video, we are called to emulate the same passion for the lost of this world and love others enough to share the Gospel with them. Yes, it will likely bring persecution and rejection into our lives from those we love, but are we so heartless in the church as to willingly stand by while others commit spiritual suicide before our eyes? That is a sobering question we must wrestle with, but one that comes with a responsibility to stand for what we believe and obey God's command to fulfill the Great Commission. Perhaps then revival will finally translate from something we talk about into tangible application, by our willingness to go and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ no matter the cost. "And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age'" (Matthew 28:18–20).