There have been a few occasions in my life when I have been tangibly aware of God’s presence. When it happens, time seems to stop, the room seems to shrink and expand all at the same time, and the undeniable and altogether magnificent presence of the Divine absorbs my entire attention.
I remember it happening one Sunday evening in 2004. I was in the front row of a worship service that I was helping lead. I don’t remember who preached or what was said, but I had a real encounter with the Lord, right there on the faded blue carpet of the church I had grown up in. The worship leader said something to the effect of … “just remember, as we sing, that the God of the universe is real and present and available to meet with you tonight.”
None of that was new information to me, but for some reason, I really locked into the reality of a God who was right there, in that room, ready to engage with little old me. And so, as we sang Marty Sampson’s worship hit, “Take All of Me,” with a band that wasn’t really good enough to pull it off, it was like the heavens were ripped open, and I had a real and deeply moving encounter with the living God. It was then that I committed my life to Christian ministry. I have never really recovered from that encounter with God more than 20 years ago, and I hope I never do.
This encounter with God was like a revival of my soul. The presence of God changed everything for me.
This last Sunday, as part of our ongoing study of the Kings of Judah, Jimmy McNeal taught from the early part of King Hezekiah’s reign. Hezekiah was king when God performed a miraculous work of revival among the people of Judah. Through that story, Jimmy reminded us that revival doesn’t begin with doing more, but with our returning to God’s presence. When we have an encounter with the living God, what follows is usually a joyful confession of our sin and need for a Savior and a deep commitment to a life of service and generosity towards God and His people.
This seems to be the normative pattern of how God sparks a revival amongst His people. It was how He moved during Hezekiah’s reform, and it has been how He has moved in seasons of revival in my own life. It was the exact pattern that God enacted when I met with Him on that chilly evening in 2004.
I became profoundly aware of His presence.
I became acutely aware of my own sin and my need (and gratitude) for a Savior.
I wanted to commit the rest of my life to giving myself away for God’s purpose and glory.
Presence … confession … commitment.
In a way, Hezekiah made revival possible by reopening the temple doors and inviting the people back into the reality of God’s manifest presence. For us, it’s even better.
Today, we have unbridled access to God’s presence through the finished work of Jesus, who didn’t just fling the temple doors open, but tore from top to bottom the curtain that once kept us from God’s holy presence, now welcoming any who would draw near to experience the fullness and beauty and wonder of who He is.
And so, next time you open your Bible to read, or close your eyes to pray, or make your way into a worship service, just remember that God is there, as He really is, and you are before Him as you really are. He loves you, He wants to meet with you, and He wants to revive your heart. Tell Him that you need reviving, that you are done hiding, and that you want to step forward into the mercy and magnificence of His presence. He will welcome you in. There is no other place so wonderful and terrifying and real.
Revive our hearts, Lord. We long for your presence.
Want to dive deeper? Check out our sermon series guide on Kings of Judah, or watch the most recent sermon from our Kings of Judah sermon series.
