On June 11, Pastor Bai Yu'e shared online from Psalm 9 about church revival. She talked about revival beginning with the hearts of all believers.
To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. (Revelation 3:21)
Every Christian has built a relationship with God after being born again. So the beginning of faith is rebirth. Then the process is to build a church, which is the kingdom of God. The objective is for the king of one's life be the Lord, which was also the blueprint for revival. However, how to achieve this great blueprint? How does revival begin? The answer given by Pastor Bai was that it starts from the heart.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23)
There were two routes to grow in faith, one by experiencing it with the heart, and the other with the mind. God has hidden these things from the wise and the learned, and revealed them to little children. If we want to experience His presence, richness, works and power, every brother and sister should be in awe in their hearts, as well as walk and feel in their heart. Some people use their minds to understand God's words, but how can our limited minds understand the infinite mysteries of God?
Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” (Matthew 9:20 -21) How can such a great miracle be figured out with our mind? When the mind controls the brain, the heart gets better and better. But when the mind controls the heart, the heart gets worse and worse. Because God did not look on Cain and his offering with favor, Cain controlled his mind with his brain and killed his brother.
The Bible said that everything we do comes from our hearts. The heart can move or inspire a person in the family, workplace, society, or in any field. Therefore, when our hearts have been changed, we become changed people. Then the family changes, society changes, and the country changes, which eventually affects the entire world. So, the heart is very important to each of us for it can have a great influence.
The Lord says:” These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught. (Isaiah 29:13)
Revival begins with the heart. Many people want to be closer to God, but their hearts are far from Him. We should give the Lord our heart, walk only in His way, and then we will change. As the Psalm said:” Who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken.” If we are not focused on Him, then we will easily fall.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’(Mark 12:30)
What does Jesus ask of us? He asks for an unreserved heart. “Heart” appears 1245 times in the Old Testament and 693 times in the New Testament, which shows that it is very important. When we communicate with each other in the church, family, or workplace, we communicate with our hearts. It’s not about a specific thing or to get a specific benefit, and we also don't do it to get praise. Only when the foundation is built on love can the road become longer and wider. Jesus is a very good example.
What is the result of winning people's hearts with our hearts? Joy will be both given to us and people who are served. This is what the Lord says:” Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10) Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. (Galatians 6:7)
-Translated by Elaina Wu
