The call to spiritual awakening is the call to “come home.”
Come home from our impossible schedules that have left us out of breath and out of touch with God. Come home from the trivial diversions that have robbed us of time with the Lord. Come home from loud radio commercials, loud television shows, and other mindless chatter that keep us from hearing God’s still, small voice. “‘Like a flock of birds, they will come…trembling like doves, they will return…and I will bring them home again,’ says the Lord.” Hosea 11:11, NLT
When coming home to Him is our personal prayer, spiritual awakening stops being theoretical and starts becoming deeply personal. We must start seeing awakening for what it truly is—a revitalized relationship with Jesus Christ. “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.” Philippians 3:8-9, NLT
The call to spiritual awakening means coming home to God daily just as we are. Jesus invites, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28, NKJV
We come home to the Lord with all our baggage, knowing that He already knows what we are carrying inside. This means coming to Him as one who has been “damaged in shipment.” It means coming as a broken vessel in need of repair, a vessel that needs to be reshaped. Our Savior decrees, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:3-4, NKJV
The call to spiritual awakening is a call for us to come home to God as children who have wandered from a loving parent. “But to all who believed Jesus and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12, NLT
Coming home to Jesus means knowing we are forgiven, accepted, and loved again—as if for the first time. “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10, NLT
God calls us home to Him not because we love Him, but because He loves us. He, alone, takes all the credit. “The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” Isaiah 37:32, NLT
In coming home to spiritual awakening, we will not take the glory. We, as the Lord’s followers, are to continue to walk in humility. “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth…’” Jeremiah 9:23-24, NLT
Today, many of us have heard this call to come home to a Jesus-Now Awakening, the ones who have been gripped by conviction, confession, and repentance. “Who, then, ascends into the presence of the Lord? And who has the privilege of entering into God’s Holy Place? Those who are clean – whose works and ways are pure, whose hearts are true and sealed by the truth, those who never deceive, whose words are sure.” Psalm 24:3-4, TPT
When we come home to Jesus, we will find ourselves thanking Him, praising Him, seeking Him, loving Him. That is when we will find ourselves waiting on the Lord, praying for His people to be renewed in His time. Jesus told His disciples, “Loving me empowers you to keep my commands.” John 14:15, TPT
We pray for God’s children to come home today as Hezekiah prayed for Israel’s delivery millennia ago, “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see!… Now, O Lord our God, rescue us…then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord, are God.” Isaiah 37:16-17, 20, NLT
As we come home to renewed spiritual life, we will not be able to keep from sharing it. This is the ultimate goal of God’s own heart and the penultimate reason He brings His people home to spiritual awakening—the Creator recreating and building His kingdom on earth prior to ushering in His eternal kingdom. “The Lord is not really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” 2 Peter 3:9, NLT
We can let go of wondering what the next spiritual awakening will look like or when it will come because we are simply coming home to Jesus. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6, NKJV
We are coming home to the Father we had once forgotten, ignored, or for whom we have simply been too busy. We are like a remnant in a dry season crying, “Oh God, move. Move in me!”
Is this your voice? Is this your prayer? Do you want to know what it feels like to be alive again? Would you like to come home? Come home to Jesus. He is waiting. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and [fellowship] with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20, NKJV
Find out more about coming home to Jesus here.
To stay up-to-date with Jesus Now Awakening:
Phillips, Tom (2016-11-01). Jesus Now: God Is Up to Something Big (Chapter 7 p. 167-171). BroadStreet Publishing Group LLC.
Also read this article on The Gospel Herald.
2 Comments
When Paul’s message about Jesus was rejected by the Jewish leaders in Antioch of Pisidia, he said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you.
What a great reminder that revival must begin in us as Christians! Praying for an old-fashioned, holy ghost, heaven-sent revival with you!