The Spiritual Condition of America, Politics, Culture, and Current Events Analyzed Through the Lens of Scripture. Welcome to the Alex McFarland Show. Psalm 118, verse 24, says, This is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Hi, Alex McFarland here.
I'm going to come back to that verse in just a moment. But before that, I want to talk about a very famous gospel song. Maybe you've heard this song. It was very prominently featured in the movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou? Keep on the Sunny Side of Life.
And I want to talk about some of the keys to maintaining personal revival. And a dynamic relationship with Christ.
Now, think about this: revival is a choice. I'll come back to that. But did you ever hear the song Keep on the Sunny Side of Life? It is a very famous song made famous by the Carter family in the 1920s. But this very famous Christian hymn has an interesting backstory.
In Cleveland, Ohio, there was a composer named Ada Blinkhorn, B-L-E-N-K-H-O-R-N, Ada Blinkhorn. And she composed gospel songs with a man named J. Howard Entwistle.
Now, some of you that like music trivia, you might remember the bass player for The Who was John Entwistle, and J. Howard Entwistle had come over from England. I don't know if they were both related, but Ada Blinkhorn and Howard Entwistle wrote gospel songs in the 1890s, and one was inspired by Ada Blinkhorn's nephew. He was disabled and he had to be pushed in a wheelchair. And Ada Blinkhorn's nephew would always say, Push me down the sunny side of the street.
And she was enamored with that phrase, and she came up with the song, Keep on the Sunny Side of Life. And it's a gospel hymn. And it says that there is a sunny side that the Lord gives us. The storm in its fury breaks to day, crushing hopes that we cherished dear. but let us trust in our Saviour alway, Who ever keeps us in His care?
Keep on the sunny side of life. And I think about that great gospel song, a beloved gospel tune, when I read Psalm 118, verse 24. And the question might. Come across your mind, how can we keep our spiritual lives vibrant, joyful, growing, even when circumstances are difficult?
Now, we can't always choose our circumstances, but through Jesus Christ, we can choose where we fix our eyes, we can choose what fills our hearts. and we can choose how we respond to life.
Now, Psalm one eighteen, verse twenty four This is the day which the Lord hath made let us rejoice and be glad in it. And I looked at those words. They just stood out to me. Rejoice and be glad.
Now, you and I didn't live in the Bible times during Christ. Uh we didn't live during the Protestant Reformation in Europe, and we we weren't alive in seventeen seventy six during the colonial era. That would have been interesting. When I was a kid I wanted to live in the Wild West. I grew up watching gun smoke and Uh the rifle man.
And I wanted to be a cowboy in the Wild West, but we live in the times that we live. We really do. And we can't choose our context. Or our circumstances, but we most certainly can. choose how we Navigate those.
And Psalm 118, verse 24 says, We will rejoice. and be glad in it.
Now let's talk about some of these words, the word will. W-I-L-L. That means free will. Animals have instinct. You and I have agency.
We can make a choice and revival and being positive and trusting God, being joyful. Is a choice. Revival is a choice.
Now, I looked up the word, we will. Rejoice Do you know what the word is in Hebrew? And I want some of you music people to really think it's the word Nagilah. N-A-G-I-L-A-H, and it means triumphant.
Now, maybe you while we're talking about music, Bobby Deerin. and others. would record the song Hava Negila. It's a very famous, got that Jewish cadence to it, Hava Negelah. And it means let us rejoice.
Let us rejoice. And it means victoriously rejoice.
Okay, this is the day the Lord hath made. We will victoriously celebrate and rejoice. And then be glad.
Now the word glad, to be glad, whenis miha in the Hebrew, it means to cheer yourself up. and to make merry is not something.
So it might be today that we have to cheer ourselves up and make merry.
Well, how? What do I need to remind myself of?
Well Christ is king. He's the Creator, Sustainer of the Universe. He paid our sin debt on the cross in total. came out of the grave alive under his own power. We're indwelt by God's Holy Spirit, sealed by God's Holy Spirit, Ephesians 4:30.
Christ will never leave us or forsake us. Hebrews chapter 13. God the Father knows what we need even before we ask. Matthew six, verse eight. And Philippians, Paul was writing in a jail cell when he pinned those words, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13. My God will supply all your needs according to his riches and glory through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4.13. Nineteen. And so, Nagila, we victoriously celebrate.
And we are glad we're making merry within our heart. Even within this circumstance.
So, I want to talk about looking toward the light. who is Jesus. I've told this many times, many times. But in our first ever trip Yeah. of several.
We were in a place in the bush country of Zambia, and they would say Jabba Tamaninji. I'm probably mispronouncing it. Jabba Tama Ninji. It was in the Bimba language. And I said, What does that mean?
and one of the pastors that had an interpreter. He said it means you have separated out the good. I said, well, what does that mean? he said, Well, anybody can point out what's bad. But you have to be intentional and choose to separate out what's good.
And so Let's do that today. We've got to take a brief break, but when we come back, we're going to talk about looking to the light. Who is Jesus? Psychologists tell us that people are instinctively, naturally drawn to sunshine. Isn't that something?
Yeah. Light brings warmth and hope and life. And the same is true spiritually, very true. When we continually turn our hearts toward Jesus, the light of the world, we find hope. even when life becomes dark.
Jesus said in John 8, verse 12, I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. And so when we come back after this brief break, we're going to talk about keeping on the sunny side and the keys to maintaining personal revival and a dynamic relationship with Jesus. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland, a religion and culture expert. Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this.
Would you invest a financial contribution to see young people saved? People give their lives to Christ, and people care about God and country? If you would please make a donation securely online, you can give at alexmacfarlane.com or please mail a check to TNG PO Box 485 Pleasant Garden, North Carolina, 27313. Your gift will be faithfully handled, fruitfully used, and we thank you in Jesus' name. Uh He's been called trusted, truthful, and timely.
Welcome back to the Alex McFarlane Show. Welcome back to the program. Alex McFarlane here. We're talking about being revived in our heart and really the choice to be positive, to be joyful. Frankly, Uh revival in one's heart is the choice to be grateful.
to be grateful.
Now let me say that the Christian life is not a promise that we'll never have trouble, but it is a promise that we never have to face trouble alone. Jesus said in John 16, 33, In this world you will have tribulation. but be of good cheer I have overcome the world. Isn't that something? Now, there's coming the Great Tribulation, the Seven Year Tribulation, I believe after the Rapture.
But just in this world, even down here during the Church age, God's people have trouble. Tribulation, persecution, animosity, even sometimes within one's own house. If you set out to serve Jesus, not only is it not the subtraction of all your problems, frankly, sometimes life begins to really get complicated when you do get serious about Jesus being Lord of your life in every area. And I've always loved the John 16, 33, where Jesus says, Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.
So if Christ can overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, And he certainly was victorious over all of these. Then he can help us with our stresses and our strains.
So here's the idea we want to convey, and I challenge you to ponder on it. Personal revival is not merely some emotional experience we have. In church or even at the altar, revival is a daily decision to remain close to Christ. And as Oswald Chambers said very famously in the book posthumously published, My Utmost for His Highest, it's a daily decision to, as he said, quote, vigilantly Believe. what is true.
So what are some of the principles of revival? I'm going to give you five. Number one, keep your eyes on Jesus. On the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, when he was reviled, reviled not again.
When he was falsely accused, he answered not a word. Christ Jesus is not only our Savior. He certainly is that. He's not only our Lord. And He certainly is Lord of all.
Jesus is our example and our role model. And let's remember from Calvary's cross Jesus said, Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. You know, he is our focus.
So, whatever. Constantly occupies our attention will eventually influence our attitude. If we obsess continually about our problems, we're going to be discouraged. If we obsess about The failures of others, we think people have let us down, we're going to become critical. and bitter.
If we're continually thinking about the troubles of the world, we're going to become fearful and just be possessed with anxiety. And when we deliberately turn our eyes toward Jesus Christ, our perspective will change. Hebrews 12, verse 2 says, Looking unto Jesus. The author and finisher of our faith. You know, one of my favorite biblical characters, I talk about this all the time, is Peter.
Love the Apostle Peter. the fisherman. No filter. Peter. Who said, seems like he would say whatever came to his mind.
And when he walked on water, I love Peter's courage. He got out of the boat, he walked on water, but he saw the storm, and it was boisterous, the way the King James renders it. and Peter began to sink. he was possessed by fear when he looked at those wind and waves and storm. And of course he uttered that fantastic three-word prayer, Lord save me.
Do you know you can pray that prayer to day, and Christ will save you. You don't have to be articulate or come up with some long tome. You can simply call out to the Son of God, Lord, save me. And just like Jesus rescued Peter, and Christ has been rescuing sinners. And fallen people for all these centuries.
Maybe you need to sincerely from your heart to God. Call out today and say, Lord, save me. But what has your attention? has your heart. No.
Here's the statement. You've heard it in various ways. You can't control what happens to you, but you can continually change. Choose what you look toward. And the question is: Am I looking at my circumstances or my Savior?
Now, point number two, not just keep your eyes on Jesus, but Point number two. Personal revival, keep your heart full of gratitude. One of the spiritual disciplines, by the way, is the discipline of thanksgiving. And I truly believe the greatest motivator for serving the Lord is gratitude. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, In everything give thanks.
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. giving thanks. And I will tell you, it's been said that the short road to bitterness is paved by taking every little injustice to heart. And so we need to be thankful.
Now, it doesn't say we must be thankful for everything. but in everything What are you thankful for? Will, salvation, God's mercy, God's Presence, God's forgiveness. The Bible, God's holy word. Be thankful for your family and your friends, your church family.
Be thankful for another day. Hey, be thankful Jesus is coming again. Yeah, I've always loved Psalm 103, verse 2. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. The benefits package.
God is a good God. Number three. Feed your soul with the word of God. Not just keep your eyes on Jesus, keep a heart full of gratitude, but feed your soul with the Word of God. And we've all, hopefully, you've been touched by Patrick.
Pastors and ministers and sermons that have moved you, but you can't. Stay spiritually vibrant on yesterday's food. you know, leftovers get stale. Things like that. And I know that there's promises and there's memories and there's great victories that we think about, but honestly, one of the keys to a vibrant spiritual life is to keep your soul, the fires of your heart, stoked and burning bright with the Word of God.
John Wesley would always ask his people, you know, has the Word of God lived in me today? It's part of what they would ask themselves. Know Psalm 119, verse 105. I wrote an entire book on Psalm 119. Thy word is Is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path.
A lamp. can bring not only illumination but Heat. And a light shows the way. And so what is that lamp and that light in the life of a Christian?
Well, it's God's holy word. 2 Timothy 3:16, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. That means beneficial.
So, Scripture is profitable for you.
So the Bible is God's truth for our mind, God's encouragement for our hearts. And God's direction for our steps. We've got to take a brief break. More keys to personal revival. and the sunny side.
of the street. after this brief break. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland, a religion and culture expert. Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this. Producer Mike for the Alex McFarlane Show, listen to this.
Alex is the Christian voice we need right now. I love listening to him, and the guests he has on the show are just amazing. I highly recommend his podcast. Great words, Alex.
Well, we give God the glory. We thank the listeners for kind sentiments like that, but we give God all the glory. But, folks, please listen in, spread the word. You're spreading the gospel. Tell others about our programming, and we sincerely thank you.
Um He's been called trusted, truthful, and timely. Welcome back to the Alex McFarlane Show. Welcome back to the program. Alex McFarland here. We're going to resume the keys to personal revival, but I want to remind everybody to please be in prayer for our ministries.
You know, as you're hearing this program, we're in our eighth of eight summer camps, wrapping up a wonderful summer of youth camps, hundreds and hundreds of teens, and many made salvation decisions, commitments to Christ. We also have had a couple of our Revive U.S. events this year. We've been to the Billy Graham Conference Center twice. And I just want to say how much I appreciate all of the people that have attended our events.
They've prayed for us. The countless numbers of people that, by email and phone calls, and letters, and then at personal events, have come, walked an aisle, prayed, made decisions for Christ. We give God all the glory. But please go to my website, which is alexmacfarland.com. We've got an event in Montana.
We're in Colorado. We're throughout the Southeast, in Florida in the month of November. Many, many events yet to come this year. We had our big Conversations That Matter with Eric Metaxas. And then October 3rd, 2026, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, we're having an event about reaching Muslims for Christ.
on radio On stages, in churches throughout the country, God's allowing us to preach the gospel, and we value your prayers. We depend on your prayers and financial support. And so please participate in our ministry and know that each one of us has a role to play in revival.
Well, speaking about that, we talked about feeding our soul with the Word of God. Point number four is this. To keys of revival and And staying positive and upbeat and sunshiny for Jesus. Number four, stay connected to Christ and His people. You know, too much solitude is not good, and personal revival requires fellowship with Jesus, but also with the people of God.
That's why it's important to be around others. You know, Hebrews 10. 24 and 25 says, Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.
Now even before the fall of Genesis three. Sin had not entered the world yet, and yet there was something less than ideal. God said It is not good for man to be alone. And so there's just something uplifting about. Go into church.
even when you don't feel like it. In fact, the time most needed to fellowship with the people of God is when you don't feel like doing it. or even volunteering Participating in something, and you say, Well, my heart's not really in it, I'm tired. I'm just going through the motions. But do you know what?
Here's the thing. Doing the right thing is step one. and emotions will follow. there's the right thoughts, the right actions, and down the road you'll get the right or the desired feelings. And so Stay connected because personal fellowship with Jesus is the key to personal revival, but as you interact.
with those that Christ has called us to love. It will change the way we feel. I mean, we pray, we need to stay connected to God in prayer, we worship corporately. and keep a tender heart for that We Fellowship with others, and there's just something honestly uplifting and, frankly, emotionally and psychologically healthy when we interact with others and just pray and say, Holy Spirit, I am Open my heart, Help me. Two.
Interact with others.
Now, what does that do? Because it takes the focus off of ourselves. When you're alone, Invariably your focus is going to be inward. rather than upward and outward. And finally, let me say this about the five keys that I believe are steps to personal revival.
choose joy and live in the promises of Jesus.
Now, think about this. Joy is not the same as happiness. Joy is deeper than happiness. Happiness is largely circumstantial. But Christian joy.
is something that's available through Jesus. Let me say this. Happiness is often about something that we hold in our hands. Christian joy is about who is holding us. and who's holding us is Jesus Christ.
First Peter 5:7, casting all your care on him. For he cares for you. And I've Often talked about John 10:28, how nothing can pluck us out of his hand. And, you know, I said also in making the list of things for which you're grateful, be grateful Christ is coming back. And it could be today.
John 14, verse 3, the Lord said this, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
Well, we're running out of time for this visit together, but let me say this, some things that are worth getting excited about. Jesus is on the throne. God is still faithful, His Word is still true, prayer still works, His grace is sufficient, Heaven is still ahead, and Jesus is coming again. He is He really is.
So. Brothers and sisters, obviously, number one, if you've never trusted Christ, the key to your life of joy and confidence and power and strength and assurance and revival that begins. with putting your faith in Jesus, and Jesus is as close by as a prayer. He is. If you need spiritual help, go to alexmacfarland.com.
And there's a tab there. My relationship with God. And there's a book we've given away. Thousands, thousands of copies. What does God say about my relationship with Him?
And there's a full explanation of the gospel. And step one, Give your heart to Christ. But let me say this. For the Christians. Do not let darkness steal your joy.
Do not Let circumstances erode your trust in Jesus or divert your focus away from Him. In this world, we're not in heaven yet. There's going to be cloudy days, there's going to be disappointments.
sometimes there's seasons of grief.
Sometimes there are expectations that don't always pan out. But clouds just like a cloudy sky doesn't mean the sun has disappeared. might be momentarily obstructed but difficulties do not mean that the presence of God has disappeared. Paul said this, and remember he was beaten, pushed over a cliff, locked up in jail, falsely accused. I don't know that anyone has ever suffered for the gospel as much as the apostle Paul invested himself As much in the Great Commission, but 2 Corinthians 4.8, Paul said, We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed.
we are perplexed, but not in despair. Why? How could he not be in despair like this? Because his hope was Was outside of his circumstances, and his hope was in something bigger than his circumstances. His confidence was in Jesus Christ, the So We'll have to hit the pause button for today, but what do we do?
Uh no matter what you're facing. Could be physical, financial, spiritual. familial psychological God's got your back, friend. He knows what you need. he says close by as a prayer.
And you need to trust God to change your circumstances. but your choices and your response to day can allow God to change you.
So look up Look up to Jesus. Look around. For his blessings and opportunities to to serve and encourage others, and then look ahead. to God's promises the way God is going to begin answering your prayers even to day And look ahead to the return of Christ. Stop rehearsing.
The past and everything that's Gone wrong. There's not a one of us, there's not a human on earth. that can interact with the happenings of yesterday. but beginning right now. you can respond and turn to Christ.
And yesterday's disappointments. Don't have to rob you of today's and tomorrow's blessings.
So, We're out of time. In the meantime, keep on the sunny side, stay in the Word, walk with Christ. Look to Christ. And remember Jesus is as close by as a prayer. Alex McFarland Ministries are made possible through the prayers and financial support of partners like you.
For over 20 years, this ministry has been bringing individuals into a personal relationship with Christ and has been equipping people to stand strong for truth. Learn more and donate securely online at alexmacfarland.com. You may also reach us by calling 1-877-YESGOD and the number 1. That's 1-877-Y-E-S-G-O-D-1. Thanks for joining us.
We'll see you again on the next edition of the Alex McFarlane Show.
