#221 – Christ is Personal Revival

CHRIST IS PERSONAL REVIVAL

Col. 2:10 “And ye are complete in him, which the head of all principality and power.”

This verse has impressed me over the years. I always felt that there were truths in that verse I needed to see and I wasn’t seeing them. The answer to understand the Scriptures is not always in being able to find the definition of words and understanding the grammatical structure of the verse or passage.

I guess the thing that motivated me to study along this line was meeting Roy Hession (now at home with the Lord) and reading his book “We would see Jesus.” Roy says “Jesus is Revival.” Since revival has been an important subject of my studies over the years that got my attention.

If Jesus is revival, I have revival. I am absolutely sure about that. But a lot of the time I do not feel revived and I am constantly reacting to situations, in my mind at least, in an unChristlike way. So the fact of my experience and the fact stated in this verse seem to contradict.

This is the point where I think I have made a mistake. It is easy to say that you are not understanding Colossians 2:10. Because the fact of my experience contradicts my understanding of this verse. And so I go with my experience and put the verse aside and simply say that maybe I will be able to reconcile this someday.

So at this point I go on seeking revival in other ways. The very fact that I do this means I have not accepted the truth that I am complete in Christ. If I believed that I was complete in Christ, I would not continue to look other places. And when I have looked other places, I have never found what I was looking for. Sometimes I feel that I am close but never quite there.

Prayer is not the answer, a special speaker is not the answer, even study of the Word of God is not the answer. All these are necessary but when they become a formula by which Christ is found, they become a barrier. I know. I have prayed, gone to hear the special speakers and tried to do what they said and studied the Word of God and personal revival always remained a prospect and not a reality. What I gained from these things was good but not an end.

When I really believed that I was complete in Christ, I quit looking for the experience and became satisfied with Him. And that is an experience! What a relief! Now I am occupied with Him. I worship Him. I do not insult Him by saying to Him “excuse me while I go somewhere to find more of You.”

Does this mean that I do not pray? No. Does this mean that I am not interested in hearing special speakers? No. Does this mean that I have quit studying the Scriptures? No. It means that I am not looking for Him in prayer. We pray together! It means when I hear a special speaker we listen to him together! It means when I study the Scripture, we study it together. I am not trying to find Him in any of these things. I have Him. I am the branch, He the vine. And what I was looking for in personal revival, I have in Him.

In His Name

Earl White