In church history there have been revival moments that have changed the course of The Kingdom. Places like Cane Ridge, Kentucky when in the early 1800’s a Presbyterian minister held a camp meeting and Holy Spirit took over, leading to the birth of what is called the Second Great Awakening in the United States. The early 1900s had the Welsh Revival with Evan Roberts and the Holy Spirit outpouring at Azusa Street in California, which lasted almost 10 years. There was the Jesus Movement, Toronto, Brownsville, and the list goes on, most recently there has been moves across college campuses in the United States that have lasted longer than an appointed worship service.
Today it seems that the battle cry of the church heralds the call for more of those revivals. In conferences and events there are prayers of petition for God to act and pour out His spirit upon His people. With honorable requests and heartfelt desires, I wonder if we are asking because it is what we want, what we think we need, or just what we have experienced. A desperate cry from God’s people…Do It Again Lord!
But What If…
God has many facets to His nature; we looked at some of those last week. Some words you will never see to describe Him are containable, predictable, repetitive or stagnant. I say this to point out the human nature of wanting Him to be each of those things, which is where we get religion. So, we cry out for revival. Revive us from our tendency to look at spiritual things in compartments; snippets of a song, select Sunday scripture messages, or short devotional readings over coffee to start our day. Spiritual attention spans have become compromised and an acceptable shallowness where God is concerned in our lives has taken root.
We cry out for revival, because we know that He is ABLE.
But what if His ability was not the problem? What if it is our Capacity?
What if instead of calling Him to do something for us, we sought Him to increase our capacity within. Not an external washing of the Spirit, but an internal restructuring of our soul. Not just a salvation from something at death, but a resurrection life here on earth that reflects the walk Jesus walked. What if He is waiting on us to step in, step up and pursue our personal story of impact in the Kingdom of God toward its redemptive march.
In Samaria
There is a story in the Gospel of John referred to as “the woman at the well.” It is a familiar story of Jesus and a divine appointment with a Samaritan woman in the heat of mid-day. The story is in John 4 (you should read it in its entirety) and before we look at the story itself, let’s get some historical context.
The Judean countryside had played host to Jesus and his band of disciples, and they were on the move again, headed for Galilee. To get to His destination He had to pass through Samaria and a town called Sychar. John tells us that it was near the field that Jacob had given Joseph, however this information is not just for geological markings, but to add to…the rest of the story.
Samaria has deep generational roots in the Old Testament. When Abraham arrived in Canaan he came to a city called Shechem, in Samaria.
Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” (Genesis 12:6-7, see also Joshua 24:32)
The LORD spoke to Abram and called him to leave his family, follow him, and obey His voice. Abram did. When we see Abram arrive in the land it says that the LORD “appeared” to him with an eternal promise of land for Abrams offspring. The word appeared is raah, a root word that means to see. Abram had a face to face with the LORD in this land. Three generations later we see Jacob coming out of exile and reuniting with Esau in guess where? Shechem, in Samaria. [Genesis 33:18]
The land of Samaria still held importance in the movement of Gods kingdom on earth, Elijah and Elisha’s lives mention Samaria as well as many of the prophets pronouncing doom upon Samaria for her compromise and idolatrous ways. Then we see Jesus in the book of John, early in his ministry, visiting Samaria. Yet, it is important to note that the sentiment toward the Samaritan people in the Jewish culture was unfavorable at best. Samaritans, while claiming Jewish heritage from the tribes of Josephs sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (see Gen 48:22), were looked at as being at least gentiles. But God had a different plan. Where Abram saw God, where Jacob reconciled with Easu, a Samaritan woman of ill-repute has an appointment with the King of Kings.
To keep from becoming a bible study, let’s tell the story and try to bring it into today, real time, human and divine interaction not just historical scripture reading. (Italics from the scripture story).
The savior of the world meets us on our path, at the well of our shame. We respond to His requests based on the shame we will acknowledge (a woman/a Samaritan), and He offers us a better way (living water). This offer challenges our religious consciousness, it doesn’t align with what we have put our faith in, “our father, Jacob?” Then the savior speaks to us about the dark places within our souls that we have hidden away, that torment and cause grief, that has us on the path we are on, “you have had 5 husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband.” He pierces our heart to change our perception, “I perceive you are a prophet.” We challenge Him based on tradition “You say Jerusalem is where we ought to worship.” He challenges us in return to a new level of worship, “true worshipers worship the Father in Spirit and Truth.” We begin to connect the dots, “I know the Messiah is coming, he who is called Christ…” Revelation of Him comes into our hearts and minds, “Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
The woman came for physical water but left with something so much more. The disciples arrive on scene and offer Jesus food, to which He explains He has dined on something much better. The divine exchange of participating in redemptions plan leaves all parties satisfied – The woman, the well, the land and the listener all exposed to the supernatural nourishment of participating in Heaven’s plans.
Church history tells us her name was Photina^. She became a powerful evangelist for the Gospel of Christ telling everyone her story in light of His Love. He changed her CAPACTIY to carry Him by restoring her dignity from shame and setting her identity in heaven. It was a revival sparked by one encounter, that came not from a corporate outpouring, but a conversation between a human and the divine that left an indwelling of revival fire. That fire spread to her town, to her family, to her generations and into other nations. We are told that Photina AND her sisters AND her sons became powerful preachers of Kingdom Gospel and started a revival that we are still talking about today.
He wants to start a revival fire in YOU! He wants to expand your capacity to hear Him, worship Him, discern Him, and establish your identity in Christ that you may walk as Jesus walked to change your heart, evangelize your town, redeem your family, infuse your generations for Kingdom purpose.
Thank you Photina for your story…Do It Again Lord!
Blessings,
Kammy
*some excerpts from “In Samaria” by Kammy Schuppe 12/14/2018
^Photina - Orthodox Church of America Website. 1996-2018 accessed 12/7/2018