Spiritual Awakening

I'd like to begin by reading Psalm 133, three verses in this psalm. Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, that went down to the skirts of his garments, as the dew of Hermon that descended upon the mountains of Zion.

For there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life, forevermore. Most of us here have perhaps had a taste once, perhaps twice in our lives, of what they call a spiritual awakening. By that I mean when suddenly in a certain place people's hearts begin turning toward God.

There's a strong sense of the presence of God, of God's judgment on sins, of his mercy on those who repent. The feeling that the end of the age is just pressing down upon us. Suddenly Jesus becomes very, very real, and his word comes alive to us, and people draw near to him and to each other, and their lives change.

This flock was touched by such a spiritual awakening as it swept across Detroit and many other places in 1970. And while it is certainly true to say that in one sense that spiritual awakening that really shook this place has never left us, it's still at work among us, and the evidence is all around us, it's also true to say that this spiritual awakening that visited here and many other places around that time was but a miniature taste of a much greater awakening that we believe is waiting to come. Certainly an awakening that we need, and that this city needs, and that the whole earth needs.

And so we think of Pentecost, that first, last age spiritual awakening that visited when the Spirit fell and the tongues of flame were visible on the heads of the 120, and they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them utterance, and they moved out from where they were gathered into the streets of Jerusalem, and a multitude assembled and couldn't figure out what was going on as they heard these people speaking in their mother tongues the wonderful works of God, and some said, these guys are drunk. And so Peter, standing up with the 11, began to explain how this was. Reading then from Acts chapter 2, verse 15, Peter says, For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.

But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. In the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy, and I will show wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the day of the Lord comes, that great and manifest day. And it shall be that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. The Spirit that visited with such power on the day of Pentecost has never left this earth.

Yet who of us can deny that there is a need among us for a fresh spiritual awakening, new vision, new zeal, new joy, a new abandoning of our hearts to the Lord? While we know that any spiritual awakening of this kind is the sovereign work of God, we don't engineer it, we can't manufacture it and make it happen. God sends it. Does this mean then, however, that we sit around and wait until it comes? Or is there something we can do to at least invite it? Is there some posture that we can assume together that will make clear to ourselves and to God that we're waiting and we're ready? Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

It is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, and that went down to the skirts of his garments, as the dew of Hermon that descended upon the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore. This psalm is a description of a spiritual awakening. When the light of the Spirit of God descends from heaven and comes down to the earth and quickens it, just like that precious anointing oil that was on Aaron and ran down from his head over his beard, covered his garments, as a sign that life from God was overwhelming him, was flowing over him and coming down upon him and rolling out from his mouth and across his hands and bringing blessing to everything he touched and everyone who heard him speak.

It's a description of life coming down like the dew of Hermon, giving new and fresh life to the mountains around Jerusalem and quickening everything. Now this anointing oil, this refreshing dew of the Spirit, when it comes, doesn't only bring us joy, as it does, of course, or power, as it does, of course, but it flows out from us and permits the world around us to experience life from God. Now what do we have to do in order to experience such a thing? And what is the evidence when the Spirit of God brings life upon us that this is really an awakening from God? In this psalm we see very clearly that the evidence always, always, when the life of God comes down upon us, we draw together and we dwell together in unity.

It could also be equally true to say that when we come together in unity around the name of Jesus, the Spirit of the Lord will be there. That every spiritual awakening that has ever hit this earth has involved people, men and women, laying aside the barriers that separate them from each other and coming together around the name of Jesus. How good and how pleasant it is when brethren dwell together in unity.

When they come together in unity, life from God begins to burn within them and quicken them, and the dew of Hermon and the anointing oil begins to become obvious, and they have life in abundance for others. Those of us who have a desire for this, may it be that we all begin to get a craving that is absolutely unquenchable until it's fulfilled by God. Keep asking, what do we have to do? What can we do to come into such unity that the anointing oil may come down upon the head and that the dew of Hermon may descend upon the body? And the answer is very simple.

First of all, we need to learn really how to abide and abide. And secondly, we need to learn really how to love each other. Abide in me, love one another.

Reading from John 15.1, Jesus says, I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of vine that bears no fruit, he takes away. And every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit.

You are already pruned, made clean by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. And the branch cannot bear fruit, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing.

If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers. And the branches are gathered and thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

By this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love.

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. Now when the branch abides in the vine, to the extent, to the degree, that the life of the vine is able to come up into the branch so that the branch can bear fruit, that branch absolutely must be in harmony with the other branches.

If this branch is drawing life from the vine, and this branch is drawing life from the same vine, how can they be in this harmony? And when the wind blows upon the vine, all the branches move at the same time. If we're gathered in the name of Jesus, and the Spirit of God begins to stir among us, surely we're going to move together. If our hearts are one around him, then we move as one, as branches abiding in the same vine.

And when we are in that kind of unity around him, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity, then the life of God must flow. The Spirit moves up through the vine, into the branch, and it begins to flourish. The anointing oil comes down upon the head, in abundance, it rolls down over the beard, covers the garments with light.

The dew of Hermon descends upon the assembly, and there is an awakening. Now our problem, at least for many of us, is that we have tried to abide in the vine single-handedly, individualistically. Lord, I will abide in you.

I want to dwell in you. I want to rest in you. I want to trust you.

I want to do your will. But Lord, please don't ask me to open my heart to other believers. Lord, I've had too many bad experiences.

I've been disappointed too many times. It's been too painful. Let it just be me and you, Lord.

And the Lord responds, My child, if you abide in me, you have no choice but to open your heart to the other branches that are abiding in me, so that the discourse about the vine and the branches continues with these words from John 15. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what the master is doing. But I've called you friends for all that I've heard from my Father I've made known to you.

You did not choose me. I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you. This I command you, that you love one another.

Spiritual awakening is the sovereign work of God. We cannot make it happen. God makes it happen.

And if he wants to, he can make the stones cry out to his praise. And yet, every spiritual awakening that has come to this earth since Pentecost has involved two things. It has involved, first, men and women who are deeply and radically committed to Jesus as branches on a vine.

And second, men and women who are deeply and radically committed to each other in holy love. So in this passage that we read from John 15, two points, basic points. Abide in me.

Love one another. You'll never love one another unless you abide in me. And you'll never abide in me unless you love one another.

But if you abide in me and love one another, you will have the unity of heaven. The anointing oil will come to rest upon the head. The dew of Hermon will come upon the body.

And there will be an awakening. In the last days it shall be, God declares, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.

And your young men shall see visions. And your old men shall dream dreams. Yea, and on my men servants and my maid servants in those days, I will pour out my spirit and they shall prophesy.

And I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon to blood before the day of the Lord comes, that great and manifest day. And it shall be during this awakening that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Now the spirit has come and he is in our midst. But the power of the anointing of the spirit upon us hinges on the extent to which we respond as he calls us to do things. First, the spirit is calling us to deeply and radically commit ourselves to Jesus as branches in the vine.

You know, our response is often, well, I've heard that a million times and I've done it a million times. What are you talking about? I know all about that. I've done it.

And yet, if we're honest, surely we need to see that there's more. You know, who of us can say that it's the way it should be? We're called to a rest in the vine that is deeper than we've ever known. A trust in him.

A listening to him. A surrender to him. An obedience to him.

We're going to listen to your word, Lord. And whatever you tell us to do, we're going to do. I want to know you, Lord, as I've never known you before.

I'm going to walk with you. I'm going to listen to you. I'm going to trust you.

I'm going to fellowship with you. When this becomes supreme in our hearts, then when we pick up the Bible, doesn't matter whether we're in Genesis or Psalm or Isaiah or Ezekiel or Revelation, everywhere we look we'll see Jesus. And we will hear his voice and mysteries will open to us.

We'll begin to open our hearts in prayer to God and we will know that we are being helped by the Lord himself, that he's there interceding. And now we will be, we will experience as never before what it's like this little branch getting its sustenance from the vine. The life of the vine begins to come up into us.

We're drawing our life from him and our strength. And when the wind blows, we'll know we're going to be all right. The vine is holding us.

Now we begin to bear fruit without even trying. Abiding in him, life after life that we touch, soul after soul that we touch in his name comes bounding into the kingdom of God to our own amazement. The second thing to which the Spirit of the Lord is calling us today is to deeply and radically, rootedly, commit ourselves to each other in holy love.

Have you ever heard the Holy Spirit calling you to love your wife or your husband or that child you've been picking on and picking on? Have you ever sensed the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart and telling you to begin to love that mother of yours that you've been mad at for years or that father who seemed to close his heart to you before you became a teenager? You're walking around with this and now comes the command, love. Or that boss at work. When we hear the Spirit of the Lord calling us to love this person, the power to do it comes to us and it's like heaven breaks forth in our hearts.

In the same way now, the Spirit who set us in the body is commanding us to love each other. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. And this works out practically in such things as now you go out and you begin to pray for the very person in the fellowship who has hurt you, abused you, ignored you, misconstrued your motives.

Then you go out to people in the fellowship who are bearing wounds that you inflicted and you ask forgiveness and you make it right. Then you reach out to people whose names you still don't know after all these years. Then you reach out to people who seem to be in some kind of need.

If we're abiding in the vine, we get all the strength we need to love each other. We can do it. We can do it.

Even we can do it. Spiritual awakening is not something far away. Mighty spiritual awakening is not something out of reach.

It's very, very near. It comes when the branches get down to business and really, really abide in the vine and really begin. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

It is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, and went down to the skirts of his garments. It's like the dew of Hermon that descended upon the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life.

And if we will respond in faith, the call of the Spirit upon us today, there will be. So let's take some time in silence and let the Spirit speak to our hearts and become specific with us in areas where we need to get into that vine and where we need to begin to practice love for each other.