Every born-again Christian has a deep and innate yearning for revival. Even as God’s Spirit moves mightily across East Malaysia, SIB KL is not resting on its laurels. Recently, Pr Miranda Kua shared a sobering message that took stock of the essence of a revival. Guided by Isaiah 40: 3-5, she conveyed that every revival begins with a wilderness experience and three responses – the Call to Repentance, the Consecration to Obedience, and the Communion to Become Radical Witnesses for Christ.
Isaiah 40: 3-5
3 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Acknowledging that the wilderness experience is unpleasant for many of us to walk through, Pr Miranda shared it is nevertheless a valuable and vital part of the revival experience. In Isaiah 40:3, there is a mention of a voice calling in the wilderness, often referred to John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus’s first advent among His people. We usually stay in a location for a reason, be it comfort, security, or a sense of belonging. What made John the Baptist choose to stay in the wilderness? The wilderness usually has negative connotations and tends to be seen as a place of endurance. However, to see revival, there must be a willingness to enter the wilderness. It is a call to us as individuals, as a church, and as followers of Christ.
It is in the wilderness we find the true mark of revival in our hearts, Pr Miranda expressed, and whether we can still cling to Jesus’s Lordship despite the difficult times. It confronts us with the conditions of our hearts and what we are chasing after in this life. The wilderness brings us to a place of deep communion where we are alone with our Heavenly Father. Is being in His presence enough for us?
In the calling out of John the Baptist’s voice, we hear him cry out to prepare the way of the Lord. In every revival, there must be an intentionality to encounter that revival, a turning from our ways and wanting to come into God’s presence. There are many choices in this world. What do we choose? If we had the calling to follow God, would we wrestle with the choice? Where are we in our relationship with God? Are we willing to enter into the wilderness just like John the Baptist? Jesus says He has not come to call the righteous but the sinners to repentance.
Revival also speaks of a time of consecration. To be consecrated is to be set apart. We are called to make a highway for the Lord. Like the building of physical highways, the building of spiritual highways requires intentionality, action, and a willingness to work hard. It involves the clearing of obstacles, the lowering down of mountains, and the leveling of crooked roads and rough edges in our lives. Some things in our lives need to be lifted up, and every valley in it exalted. There is going to be an infilling process. Burdens and idols that have made our lives hollow need to be covered and filled with God’s presence. Some mountains in our lives – barriers that stand in the way of our relationship with God – need to be torn down. Other places need to be lined up, the crooked places made straight.
Revival is a time of turning away from the crooked roads and returning to God. God is looking for a people who would carry a heart of submission, surrender, and obedience. It starts with ourselves, setting aside time for God aligning ourselves rightly with Him, and choosing to live our lives before the Lord. Are we willing to let the Lord fix the road, to clear off the roadblocks to our breakthrough? The Lord is never forceful. He only comes in by invitation. When God’s people walk in obedience, His glory is revealed. God delights in the hearts of His people when our hearts are surrendered.
Our walk with the Lord is not done on our own. As a Church, we need to come into communion with Him and become radical witnesses for Him. It is a collective journey. Jesus is not returning to a Church that is satisfied with its success but to a Church dissatisfied with His absence, filled with a longing for Jesus, to receive Him as our final and greatest reward. This is the essence of a revival. Are we hungry for His presence? Revival always happens when there’s a great hunger for His presence. We don’t want to leave until we touch the cloak of Jesus.
God is working, and He will continue to work in our nation. He is raising leaders like John the Baptist to call His people back to dedicate their lives to Him. He is raising up the church in the wilderness. God wants to raise a generation with a different lifestyle and a different spirit, one that will hunger and choose the things of God over what the world can offer them. One candle cannot stand alone, but when many candles are gathered together, we can light up the whole nation for the Lord. Abide in God, and He will abide in us. That’s what the Church is, to be Radical Witnesses for His glory, a whole nation on fire for the Lord.
Note: This is an adaptation of a sermon shared by Pr Miranda Kua at SIB KL in early November 2023. Pr Miranda also shared many stories from the revival in Borneo and a personal testimony that had an impact on her sermon. You can find the full sermon at https://www.youtube.com/live/p25PvMzEwhQ?feature=shared
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