Mark 2:17 (CSB): “When Jesus heard this, he told them, ‘It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”
We have heard much over the last couple of weeks about a revival in Wilmore, Kentucky. I visited Asbury University last Wednesday and watched thousands of people flock to three separate buildings just to experience the Lord’s presence. A chapel service that took place exactly one week earlier had not yet ended. I read an article last night that said an estimated 20,000 people had recently converged on Wilmore, a small, quiet Kentucky town with a total population of just over 6,000 citizens.
It was encouraging to me to see how hungry people are to experience the presence of God. It may very well be that we are in a season when the Lord will graciously bless so many churches and Christian organizations with his presence. People will come to understand what revival truly is.
But the question is: “What must we do to experience the wonderful presence of God in our lives?”
Let me begin by telling you what will not invite God’s presence. First, if we are filled with self-sufficiency and do not feel the weight of our sins and sinfulness, we should not expect that Jesus will show up.
Generally, the beautiful presence of God comes when we feel the weight of our sin, and we are broken over the knowledge of how far we have strayed from Him, and crave to be forgiven and healed by him. That’s when Jesus shows up! And that is exactly the point he was making in Mark 2:17.
Mark 2:17 (CSB): “When Jesus heard this, he told them, ‘It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”
Jesus is the Great Physician. If we don’t believe that we have anything wrong with us, then He doesn’t see a need to meet with us. But if we sense our guilt and desperately desire to be forgiven and healed by him, he will meet with us.
And that’s the irony of revival: to go up, we have to go down. To go up in happiness, we must first go down in repentance and brokenness. Before we can experience the powerful presence of God, we must experience our sinfulness and desperate state apart from Him.
In other words, we must realize that we are spiritually sick. Then and only then will the Doctor show up to bring us healing.
So do you crave to have a more meaningful relationship with the Lord, one that will bring your heart incredible joy? Then admit the fact that you are spiritually sick. Acknowledge that you desperately need Jesus. And then look for him to show up.
Matt’s Musings 