REQUIREMENTS FOR REVITALIZATION: CELEBRATION

A little girl was visiting a cold, dead church and said to her grandfather, "If you ever went to the fair, you would never come back to this place!" I heard Vance Havner remark, "On Sunday, most church services start at 11 o'clock sharp and end at noon dull." Revitalization of the church will be linked with celebration by the congregation. Acts 2:46-47 presents a vibrant church and says, "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." This is pictured in Nehemiah 12.

We see THE COMMITMENT OF CELEBRATION, "Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings and singing, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps," (v. 27). Here were people committed to God's service and the result was celebration. Uncommitted, carnal members straddle the fence--which is an uncomfortable position!

Then we find THE CONTENTMENT IN CELEBRATION. Verses 22-31, 44-47 present a people who were content to be where God placed them with what God provided them. They were content with their position (v. 22-31). These Israelites were assigned different duties, and there is no indication that comparison or covetousness caused any conflict. They were content with their possessions (v. 44-47). This chapter concludes with the Jews celebrating what God had given to them. We should celebrate what we have rather than complain about what we do not have.

Furthermore, observe THE CLEANSING FOR CELEBRATION, "Then the priests and Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, the gates, and the wall," (v. 30). Sin is the robber of joy. The sin of David stole the joy from his soul, and so we hear him pray, "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation" (Ps. 51:12a). An unclean life is an unhappy life. The penitent are purified, and this leads to praise.

We conclude with THE CRESCENDO OF CELEBRATION, "Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off," (v. 43). The celebration builds and builds to a crescendo of praise. Imagine worship so boisterous that it could be heard far away! It was not worked up, technologically amplified, or any such, but heart-felt joy--the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Yours in Praying for Celebrating Revitalized Churches,

Dennis Thurman, AMS