I’m sure many of you have heard about what is going on in Kentucky. There has been a non-stop 24/7 worship service at Asbury University for more than ten days. And many are calling it a revival.
It all started when students decided they didn’t want to leave after a chapel service, and next thing you know, it just kept going. And it just grew and grew, and now it’s not only non-stop, but people are coming from all over the country. I’m sure you’ve probably seen it on TV or social media, but there are lines waiting to get into the school’s chapel. I was told that the Elim Bible College’s president and a few others are heading down there to see this for themselves.
From everything I’ve seen and heard, and read, this is a true move of God. And if you get a chance, you can see it live streamed on Youtube. As far as Youtube goes, it’s kind of hard to see because the camera is on the balcony, and as far as the average watcher is concerned, it’s just a free-flowing worship service.
But I say that to encourage you that revival might be breaking out in this country.
Here’s what CBN News reported on Friday:
The revival at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, is now on its 10th day as thousands of people continue to make the spiritual pilgrimage to this town in hopes of encountering more of God.
Just 249 miles to the south, a revival at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, is well underway. Local news reports indicate the Lee revival has now been ongoing since Monday.
There are also reports of spontaneous prayer and worship among the students at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio, and at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
And I heard from someone else that there seems to be a revival growing in Florida as well.
I say this because I was reminded of a couple of sermons that I put together on the issue of getting ready for a revival and how to steward a Great Awakening. I put the first one up on our Facebook page, so you can read it if you would like.
I was also reminded of another sermon I put together quite a while ago regarding the rift that is in our society and how that line where people used to straddle––used to have one foot on one side and the other foot on the other side––that line is turning into a crevice and that crevice is getting wider so that no one will be able to stand on both sides anymore.
Get ready because the bad news is that we are going to see many of those decide to stay on the side of the world. But the good news is, and I think this revival may be proof, that we are about to see an awakening for those who’ve been straddling and now are going to come to our side. And I think it’s all going to happen at once––a great awakening and a great turning away. All at once.
As I was thinking through all of that this past week, and wanting to continue preaching on some lighter topics, I thought about the idea of anticipating this and then on the topic of anticipating whatever God is about to do as a whole. Last week, I mentioned how we should thank God for prayers yet to be answered. We should anticipate God’s good love.
And similarly, we should anticipate the goodness of God, even when we don’t necessarily know what that goodness will look like, when it will come, or how it will come to be. A revival, for example, isn’t planned, but it’s expected. People have been praying and waiting for a revival for who knows how long. There’s a movie coming out with Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in The Chosen and Kelsey Grammar about the Jesus Revolution of the early 70s. Some say that was a revival. It was unexpected, right? Who thought the next revival would have been a hippie revival?
We don’t know where, when or who will participate or be moved in a revival. No one would have thought of Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky.
A place we’ve never heard of.
What can we anticipate from God for Watkins Glen? What can we anticipate for our personal lives? Good question. And strangely, I don’t have an answer to that other than whatever it is; it will be good.
If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Psalm 27. Some of you may have a heading in your Bible that says, “A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God.” I think that rightly states what it is that I want to get across to you this morning. That is, anticipating the goodness of God requires us not to fear. It requires a joyful hope in the goodness of God. It’s easy to let fear or anxiety creep in, even when we’re waiting on the Lord, but what I want to say to you today is, let us be encouraged to fearlessly trust in God to the point where we are not only confident, but we are in joyful expectation.
Scripture
Psalm 27:11-14
11 Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me on a level path
Because of my enemies [who lie in wait].
12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
For false witnesses have come against me;
They breathe out violence.
13 I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
14 Wait for and confidently expect the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord.
You’ll notice that the psalmist begins this set of verses with crying out to the Lord:
“Teach me Your way, O Lord, And lead me on a level path”
Why?
“Because of my enemies [who lie in wait].
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, For false witnesses have come against me; They breathe out violence.”
One of my commentaries notes these verses are a “a believing prayer for guidance.” That’s a good way to put it. It’s a prayer for guidance, but it’s more than that. It’s a believing prayer for guidance. Remember the point of my sermon today is anticipating the goodness of God. Here, in the midst of distress, David, as he usually does, is anticipating the goodness of God in the midst of distress. His psalms may not always begin that way, but they usually end that way. If we were to read this whole psalm––for the sake of brevity, I didn’t––this psalm starts with joyful anticipation of God’s goodness in the midst of enemies trying to entrap David.
In verse 1, he says:
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
Here in verse 11, David, in the midst of whatever he is falsely being accused of, asks the Lord––of all things––to “teach me your way.”
This is a great example of how we should pray in the midst of whatever we are going through. Often, when we’re going through something, we act hastily or act first and think later. Or, we storm out and we think about what we should have said–– “Boy, I should have told so and so this or that. Next time, I will!”
Maybe the problem is worse than an argument or dealing with a sour individual. Maybe there’s an issue like David in this Psalm where there are false accusations and you’re tempted to go about with legal recourse; or going through the company policy channels. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with checking into some of these things, but if we do, are we doing so prayerfully and with the wisdom and guidance of God? Are we doing so with a level head and secure footing?
Notice in the midst of what he’s going through, David is asking for God’s wisdom.
“Teach me your way, oh Lord, and lead me on a smooth path.” David wanted to act, and he wanted justice, but he wanted his action to be guided from the wisdom of God; and he wanted God to act on his behalf.
What was one way in which he wanted God to act?
Enduring Word says, “he wasn’t asking for an easy life but for a stable and secure place to stand against the storms of this life.”
David wanted secure footing so that no matter what, his accusers didn’t have anything true against him. But that didn’t stop them from lurking.
Verse 12 in the NIV says,
“for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.”
So again, what do we do when…fill in the blank.
When the boss accuses you of something, a coworker or maybe even a family member or friend accuses you of something. What about seeking legal recourse? What if it’s just clearing your name or explaining, “wait a minute, it really isn’t my fault.”
Maybe it’s just a big misunderstanding, but it could cost you something. It could cost you your reputation; it could cost you friends; it could cost you a raise, or even your job as a whole.
“But wait…you knew when you hired me that I wasn’t qualified for this particular task and you were going to get me training…you expect me to get ten things done, but I have to also pick up so-and-so’s slack because he’s the one being lazy, not me.
Those are things I actually had to deal with in jobs before. What did I do? I kept fairly silent. And quite frankly, when I look back at it, I probably shouldn’t have. And it cost me, to a degree. And even when it did, I had to keep the faith––keeping on keeping on, anticipating the goodness of God.
And there came a time when none of those things mattered anymore because I had solid footing, and God set me higher to a better place.
And here is where David really shows his faith, and this next set of verses were among those that I clinged to at this time.
Verses 13 and 14:
13 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
David had a confident expectation in the Goodness of God.
You know, when I was going through things like that, or when I wasn’t getting along with someone, my expectations of God were not what happened. My expectations were for God to come through, to fight for me, to rescue me, to provide me with something better in one way or another, but I didn’t see how it would turn out. I didn’t know what would happen. In some instances, the near future was so dark I couldn’t see anything. But my hope was in the Lord.
And, even though this sermon is about having a joyful anticipation, I have to admit, I didn’t always have joyful anticipation in every circumstance. To be honest, it wasn’t until more recently that I was able to do so.
Have you ever heard a preacher or someone post something on social media to the effect of “happiness is a choice?” or “choose happiness?” And you’re like, “yeah, right.”
I know that not everyone in every circumstance can just snap their fingers and choose to be happy. I know that because I’ve been there. Your subconscious is often stronger than your conscious and you may want to be happy. You may want to have that kind of faith, but you just don’t. You can’t muster it up no matter what.
King Solomon in Ecclesiastes (you know the verse) says that there is a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance. Sadness is part of life, but thank God, we have hope. And we have an active God.
Again, his father, King David, says this:
NIV, “I remain confident of this”
AMP “I would have despaired had I not believed”
NKJ “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.”
He had anticipated the goodness of God in the ‘here and now,’ not just in the ‘yet to come.’
Enduring Word once again says David’s seeking after God, and his knowledge of the Lord, led him to this triumphant statement. He would have given up (lost heart), but he knew that the good God would find a way to show His goodness in this life (as well as the next).
I don’t know about you, but it’s easier to anticipate God’s goodness in the life to come but harder to anticipate it in this life. Maybe it’s because we know that Heaven is perfect. No sighing, no heartache, no pain, no suffering. Everything will be restored to perfection. But here, we know there’s heartache. Jesus even promised it. And besides, we don’t deserve God’s goodness. I wonder how many times I cursed myself out of God’s blessing with my lack of faith.
I don’t think I really did, but I do cling to what Paul wrote to the Romans: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Talk about expectant hope, right? Anticipating the goodness of God? Right there it is.
All things means all things.
Lori Hatcher, writing for Crosswalk.org, said
This verse says to those who love God and are doing their best to obey his commands, “Even though bad/sad/evil/wicked things will touch your life, I (God) will use them to ultimately bring about good, both in your life and in the world.”
Last week, I gave an example of how God came through in the oddest of ways for Corrie Ten Boom in a Nazi concentration camp. Some of you may have heard of…
Joni Eareckson Tada, an inspirational speaker, author, and singer, is a quadriplegic who has been confined to a wheelchair for more than 40 years. When people ask her why God allows suffering, she often says, “God allows what he hates to accomplish what he loves.” And what does God love? For people to enter into a relationship with himself and become more like him. Joni’s life and ministry are a stunning testimony of how God can use a tragedy like a paralyzing diving accident to impact the lives of millions.
God uses all things for good, for those who love him. Even the experiences of a Nazi concentration camp or a diving accident. He does not prevent all things from happening, but he uses all things for those who love him.
For Corrie Ten Boom, Joni Eareckson Tada, myself, many of you… when God comes through, it isn’t always quick and easy. Remember, we have to go through the valley of the shadow of death. We aren’t always snatched out of the middle of it. We usually have to go through it. Here’s how David ends this psalm:
Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!
And you’re probably going to get sick of this, because I use it so often, but I can’t help but be reminded of Isaiah 40:31, “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Charles Spurgeon said: “Wait at his door with prayer; wait at his foot with humility; wait at his table with service; wait at his window with expectancy.”
Think about the way he put that. We wait in prayer, humility, continuing to serve the Lord in whatever way we faithfully can––remember the story of the talents––and we wait with expectancy. Again, a confident hope in the goodness of God to come through no matter what.
I want to end today by encouraging you to wait expectantly on the Lord. I know that this psalm, as many psalms, sort of give us an extreme example of grief and worry.
And maybe today, you’re experiencing grief and worry. Be confident of this, wait upon the Lord and anticipate his goodness in the here and now, in the land of the living.
But I would like to tie today’s message back to the idea of revival. Like I said, no one was expecting revival. It just came through students who had a humble heart and desire for more of God in a personal way.
And we don’t know what to expect next. This revival could just be over within a few days, and isolated to these areas, or it could spread like wildfire. In either case, I think it serves as an example of God’s goodness sprouting up where and when we least expect it. Even if revival doesn’t come to Watkins Glen, let’s at least expect God to show up somehow, somewhere, and some way in our lives; and I think that eager anticipation––which we call faith––will result in the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Let’s do as I mentioned last week, and start giving praise for things yet to come, not only things that we have been praying for, but good things from God that we don’t even yet know about, and therefore we can’t even begin to ask. One more verse before we close, this is from the New International Reader’s Version (I know I bounce between translations a lot).
Eph. 3:20 20 God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine. He does everything by his power that is working in us. 21 Give him glory in the church and in Christ Jesus. Give him glory through all time and for ever and ever. Amen.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on First Baptist Church of Watkins Glen
Featured Image by Peggychoucair from Pixabay
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