Wake Me Up Before You Go Go

Introduction
In a Cincinnati Enquirer article titled A nonstop revival breaks out at Kentucky college. Now, it's viral on TikTok; it reads, "A religious service at a Christian college in Kentucky has captured the attention of social media users across the globe.
During a scheduled chapel service at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, on Feb. 8, a religious revival broke out. Over a week later, the service is still going strong, with folks traveling from as far as Singapore to join.

Videos of students participating in the nonstop prayer and worship service have made their way to social media, sparking international attention. As of Feb. 16, posts with the #AsburyRevival hashtag have generated 34.5 million views on TikTok.

NBC reports that students and faculty from 22 schools in Hawaii, Massachusetts, Illinois, Minnesota, Tennessee, Indiana, and other states have made the trek to Asbury to join in on the religious experience. Travelers from Singapore and Canada are also expected to arrive soon."
 
Haggai
When I think of revival, I often think of Haggai. The book of Haggai is a minor prophet book.  This does not mean the book is insignificant, i.e., less important; it simply means it is short.  We do not know much about the prophet Haggai.  We do not know who his father is; we know him as "the prophet" as he is named in both his own book and in the book of Ezra.
 
The time is around 520 B.C., and a remnant of Israelites who returned from captivity live in and around Jerusalem. We can presume (according to Haggai chapter one) that Israel's spiritual priorities were not in the right place.  They had become complacent and apathetic in their lives.  The Temple was ransacked many years prior; thus, they had no temple for worship; they only had rubble and remnants of a destroyed temple.  They were fine worshiping in the wreckage. They were apathetic as their priorities for themselves and not God. Amid the destruction, they began rebuilding their homes and focusing on their livelihood.  This was not necessarily wrong, but it seemed they had their priorities in the wrong place.  They were not being rebellious, just complacent. 
 
The "remnant" (the 50,000 Israelites who had returned) to whom Haggai is speaking is the group initially devoted to the Lord.  These Israelites were allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple and begin restoring Jerusalem to its former glory.  When they returned, they zealously started the rebuilding process and worked night and day joyfully.  We do not want to paint this remnant as a bad bunch of apples.  Yes, their priorities were a bit mixed up. In reality, they needed to build homes, have a livelihood, schools, shops, trade, etc.  They were necessary and valid pursuits.  However, the rebuilding of the Temple brought them to Jerusalem, and now they were neglecting it.
 
(Read Haggai 1:1 – 5)
Vs. 3 – 5:  Haggai speaks for the Lord first by rebuking the remnant; he says, "Is it time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses while this house (the Temple) lies in ruins?"  God is speaking to the people, and He rebukes them because they let their complacency replace their zeal.  They once had the passion and desire to see the Temple restored to its future glory, but now their passion has become complacency.  The LORD tells the Israelites to "think carefully about your ways."  This was God's way of letting them know why they are facing what they were facing. God says, "You are frustrated because you are not in line with my will."  
 
(Read Haggai 1:6 – 9)
Vs. 6:  The frustration – You plant and reap little.  You eat and are never satisfied.  You drink you remain thirsty. You clothe yourself but remain cold.  You work hard and make no money.  We can all relate to the Israelites here.  Maybe you feel this way today.  You do a lot, but you see little to no return.
 
Vs. 7 – 8:  The LORD tells them to, once again, "consider their ways" and then tells them what they should do.  He says get your priorities straight and resume the work I called you to do.  Get the lumber and resume building.  He lets them know that when they do this, they will please God and enjoy the benefits of the land.
 
Vs. 9: God tells them the reason for their frustration.  The people never found satisfaction because they did not align with His will.  It was God who caused the frustration.  He was the one who ruined the harvest.  He was the one who caused the dissatisfaction.  Why? "Because my house still lies in ruins while each of you is busy with his own house."  
He says, "You were so consumed with you that you forgot Me." Their failure was that they failed to put God first. Instead, they were more concerned about self-preservation and less about doing what God had called them.  
 
(Read 1:12 – 13)
Vs. 12 – 13:  These are vital verses… They obeyed the LORD.  In the initial rebuke, the LORD reveals His disappointment with the remnant, and they could have responded in one of two ways.
They could have wallowed and sulked in their guilt and done nothing.  For example, they could have said, "We let the LORD down, and now He is mad at us.  There is nothing we can do."
Or they could have realized their misgivings and fixed them.  Fortunately, this is what they did.  They received the rebuke, repented, and did what the LORD told them.
 
(Read Haggai 1:14 – 15)
Vs. 14 – 15: "The LORD roused (the Hebrew word is ʿuwr /oor, which means "wake up") the spirit."  This was a revival.  The LORD roused or woke up the people to do the work.  Notice… The LORD roused… This is key.  If you want to see a movement of God, it must be initiated by God. Once the LORD rouses or wakes up (ʿuwr) people, the work of revival can begin. In this, we see the mercy and grace of God.  He could have easily said, "I am done with these selfish, complacent, and lazy people!  I am going to destroy these people and start over!"  Fortunately, God does not do this.  Instead, He rouses the people, who were renewed in Him to do the work.
 
Application 
So, how does this tie into revival? What does this all mean for us today?  We are not the remnant of Jerusalem and have not received the mandate to go and forsake our livelihood, homes, schools, and businesses to rebuild a Temple.  Henry Blackaby wrote in his book EXPERIENCING GOD, "Watch to see where God is working and join Him in his work."  God is at work in this world, in this church, and in your life.  It is essential for us to observe and to find out what the LORD is doing and get on board with Him.  We are to do as the LORD says, through the prophet Haggai… consider this.  

What are we to consider? Let me give you a few things to consider regarding your relationship with God.  First, do you feel a little apathetic in your faith? Are you in a place of spiritual dullness, complacency, or even rebellion?  Then think to consider these…

1. When you lose the passion for serving God, you become complacent in your relationship with Him.
   1. This is not earth-shattering, I know. But, do you remember the days when you had a zeal for the Lord that couldn't be quenched?  I think back to my life, where I passionately served God relentlessly.  I lived for the time I could spend with God in His Word, prayer, and worship.  But somewhere down the line I lost that youthful zeal I once had.  Does this mean I am not passionate about Jesus today?  No.  It's just that I have let the mundane become the norm.  Complacency is when we allow the extraordinary to become ordinary. I.e., when we take grace, salvation, mercy, and forgiveness and begin to think they are God-given rights and not gifts of God.
2. God is often the cause of our frustration.
   1. We can relate to the frustration that the remnant faced.  We seek to be satisfied with things other than God (work, home, people, stuff) and end up frustrated.  We find that nothing can satisfy outside of God.  When we work for our financial gain, we never have enough.  When we seek satisfaction in relationships, we will be let down.  When we desire to be fulfilled by living a life of fun, sensuality, and self-indulgence, we will become bored.  
   2. Many Churches and Christians can be guilty of this.  When a ministry becomes more consumed with how much money they bring in, they begin to cater to the wealthy and not the will of God.  Some churches are determined to build their brand or legacy to leave a mark on society.  They want to be known for their accomplishments!  Some cater to people because they do not wish to offend, but in the process, end up offending even more.  When a church or ministry does this, they end up frustrated, in chaos, and ineffective for the Kingdom of God.
   3. Individuals do this as well.  Some people are consumed with what they get out of church (an emotional experience) instead of what they can do for the church (it becomes about me).  They demand to be catered to fulfill their selfish desires.
3. God often ruins our efforts because they were done for our benefit and not his. 
   1. Whenever we put anything before God, it becomes an idol, and God will destroy the idols in our lives.  We must always consider… What is the motivation for everything we do?  Is it for our glory, or is it for God's glory?
   2. Maybe you are feeling a little convicted right now… Good!  All is not lost. We can repent, we can change, and we can do what God calls us to do.  The question is, what are you going to do with your conviction?  Will you wallow and do nothing, or will you repent and change? We serve a loving, compassionate, merciful, and gracious God.  He does lovingly call us back to him and forgives us when we repent and seek to get back on track with Him.
4. God initiates revival. 
   1. God will always initiate revival.  We see this with Asbury College, and we have seen this throughout the centuries. Nevertheless, God's initiation does not mean we do not have a part to play in revival.  Revival is an awakening.  It's a movement of the Spirit.  You can read about the Great Awakening between 1730 to 1740.  During this time, God used men like George Whitfield, Jonathon Edwards, David Brainard, and many others to encourage believers to repent and be saved.  The Great Awakening notably altered the religious climate in the American colonies. Ordinary people were encouraged to make a personal connection with God instead of relying on a minister. Revival happens when God rouses His people to wake up and serve Him.  We must actively pray for revival in our lives, church, and world.  We are called to be people of prayer.  Our responsibility is to pray and let God do what God does. It has often been said, "prayer does not change God's mind, but does prayer change me."

Conclusion
So, in conclusion, let us think about these things.  But let us not stop just thinking.  Instead, may we be proactive in identifying our complacency, frustration, efforts, convictions, and passion for God and allow Him to arouse our spirits so we may be about His work and establish His Kingdom here on earth. 

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