If You Want to Experience Revival (God s 41 Words About Revival)

Transcription

1 What America Needs That Cannot Be Decided in a Presidential Election If You Want to Experience Revival (God s 41 Words About Revival) II Chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (NIV) September 25, 2016 Jay Dennis

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3 Table of Contents What is Revival?... 1 Verses on Revival... 2 Three Absolute Principles for Revival... 4 Praying through 41 Words of... 6 II Chronicles 7: Call to Action Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible unless noted otherwise Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." ( Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois All rights reserved.

4 What is Revival? Revival is a condition experienced only by true believers where there is a deep conviction of sin and a renewed awareness and pursuit of God s presence, power, love and holiness resulting in great influence in the world for God s Kingdom with people getting saved and lives and communities being transformed. 1

5 Verses on Revival Psalm 80:19 19 O LORD God of hosts, restore us; Cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. Psalm 85:6 6 Will You not Yourself revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You? Isaiah 57:15 15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite. James 4:8 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Psalm 51:10 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 119:25, 37, 40, 50, 88, 93, 107, 149, 154, 156, My soul cleaves to the dust; Revive me according to Your word. 2

6 37 Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, And revive me in Your ways. 40 Behold, I long for Your precepts; Revive me through Your righteousness. 50 This is my comfort in my affliction, That Your word has revived me. 88 Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth. 93 I will never forget Your precepts, For by them You have revived me. 107 I am exceedingly afflicted; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your word. 149 Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your ordinances. 154 Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Your word. 156 Great are Your mercies, O LORD; Revive me according to Your ordinances Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your lovingkindness. 3

7 Three Absolute Principles for Revival 1. God is Always Faithful Deuteronomy 7:9 9 Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; Psalm 119:90 90 Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; You established the earth, and it stands. Lamentations 3: The LORD S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. I Corinthians 1:9 9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 2. God Always Keeps His Promises Romans 4:21 21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. 4

8 II Corinthians 1:20 20 For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us. Numbers 23:19 19 God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? 3. I Must Meet His Conditions to Experience This for Myself Revival ALWAYS begins with a deep conviction of personal sin and a need for holiness in one s life. I John 1:7 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 5

9 Praying through 41 Words of II Chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.(niv) I. If Do I believe that God is faithful? Do I believe God will keep His Word always? Do I trust God to do what He says every time? Am I willing to do whatever it takes to experience revival? Is there anything I would not be willing to do to experience revival? Am I ready to meet God s conditions for revival? Is there anything I would be unwilling to give up to experience revival? Is there any area of my life I am unwilling to give over to God s control? 6

10 II. My People Am I one of God s people? Have I had a specific time and place when and where I received Jesus Christ into my life as my Savior and Lord? Do I know that I know that I know if I died right now, I would go to Heaven? Did I repent of my sin when I said I got saved? Am I relying only upon what Jesus did on the cross to be saved and nothing on what I have done? Am I relying only on Jesus and not on my good outweighing my bad in order to go to Heaven? III. Who Are Called By My Name Do those who I work with see me as a true Christian? Do those who live around and near me think Christian when they think of me? Am I in any way embarrassed about being known as or called a Christian? Are my actions consistent with someone who is a Christian? Are my attitudes consistent with someone who is a Christian? 7

11 Are my words consistent with someone who is a Christian? Would anyone be surprised to know I am a Christian? IV. Humble Themselves Do I have a servant attitude, putting others before myself? Am I willing to admit when I am wrong? Am I willing to apologize to those I have wronged or offended me? Do I believe that without Jesus I can do nothing? Do I have an issue admitting when I am wrong? Do I have an issue admitting when I need help from God or others? Do I treat those with wealth and power more special than those who can do nothing for me? Am I willing to do something for God and not be bothered when I don t get the credit? Am I willing to admit that I can do nothing in my own strength? Am I more concerned about the praise of people than the praise of God? 8

12 Am I blaming someone else for my own wrong choices and/or failures? Am I more concerned about what people think or what God thinks? Do I have an unteachable spirit? Am I self-centered more than Christ-centered? V. Pray Do I daily cry out to God for revival? Do I daily cry out for God to work in my life? Am I praying specifically for my lost family members and friends to be saved? Am I praying for my pastor and staff team on a regular basis? Am I praying for my church, that God would bring revival? When I promise to pray for someone, do I keep Your word? Do I daily pray for God s will be done in my life? Am I praying daily for God s wisdom? Do I pray for elected officials daily? Am I consistently getting answers to my prayers? 9

13 VI. Seek My Face (Revival is not seeking revival; it is seeking God.) Do I seek God s face by daily opening His Word and reading it? Do I have a specific plan for daily reading and studying God s Word? Am I in some kind of regular Bible study? Do I seek God s presence or seek what He can do for me, His blessings? Do I desire to see God s glory? Do I desire to glorify God in all I do, even those things not labeled as spiritual? Do I worship God on Sunday, or do I only come to church when it s convenient? Do I worship God as a way of life, choosing to praise Him and thank Him continually, or is my attitude more of complaining and ungratefulness? Am I angry at God? Am I bitter at God for something He allowed or didn t do? VII. Turn from Their Wicked Ways 10

14 Have I failed to follow Jesus command to be baptized? Have I failed to unite and commit to a local church through which I can serve God and use my gifts for His glory? Is there any un-confessed sin in my life? Is there anyone I haven t forgiven? Is there anything God has told me to do, and I have not done? Is there anything God has told me not to do, and I did it anyway? Is there any area of my life that I have not fully surrendered to God? Is there bitterness in my heart toward another believer? Am I allowing sexual sin to remain in my mind and life? Have I taken something that didn t belong to me? Have I been jealous of someone else s blessings or success? Have I supported a local church by joining and serving? Do I trust God and His Word more than I trust my feelings? Is there anyone whom I have wronged and have not made it right? 11

15 Is there any sin habit I am unwilling to confess and repent of and divorce from my life? Have I told a lie that I have not confessed to God? Have I gossiped about someone? Have I been ungrateful to God for His blessings? Have I been a party to a rumor? Have I failed to set the record straight when I knew what was being said was wrong? Am I having an emotional affair with someone? Am I having an affair with someone? Am I faithful to my spouse? As a husband and/or dad, am I taking seriously being the spiritual leader of my home? As a wife, am I honoring and respecting my husband? As a parent, do I consistently have my child/children in Church and exposed to God s Word? Am I viewing pornography? Am I failing to take care of my body as the Temple of the Holy Spirit? 12

16 Is God calling me to the ministry or mission field, but I have been holding back? Am I jealous of someone? Have I slighted someone by letting him or her know that I am hurt with him/her? Have I failed to obey God by tithing, giving 10% of my income to God through the local church? Has God told me to make a financial commitment for His work, yet I have failed to follow through? Have I allowed worry to replace faith in my life? Have I allowed fear to replace faith in my life? Have I had a critical spirit? Am I prejudiced? Is money more important than my faith to me? VIII. Then Do I fully trust that God will do what He said He would do? Am I staking everything on what God said? Will I keep believing God even when it looks like things have not worked out? 13

17 Will I trust God even if things get worse? IX. I Will Do I believe God will keep His promise to send revival if I meet His conditions? Do I doubt that God will keep His Word? Am I willing to stake everything on the fact that God will do what He said, even if it means I look like a fool for saying, God Will bring revival? X. I Will.Hear From Heaven Do I believe God is listening when I pray for revival? Do I believe God answers prayer? When I pray, do I really believe God is listening to me with a desire to answer my prayer? Do I believe God will keep His promises if I meet His conditions? XI. I Will Forgive Their Sins Have I confessed every sin up to date? Do I believe that God will forgive me when I repent of my sin? Do I trust God to do what He said when He said I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to 14

18 forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Am I hanging onto guilt even though God promised to forgive me? XII. And Will Heal Their Land Do I believe in God s healing power? Do I believe God can heal physically? Do I believe God can heal relationships? Do I believe God can heal emotions? Do I believe God can heal churches? Do I believe God can heal a nation? Do I have faith that God will heal me? 15

19 Call to Action Now, I am asking you will you take this and for one week, daily work through it? Please don t say Yes if you won t follow through. You are entering into a solemn pact with God Himself. So, for the next 7 days, will you dare to take this and take the time to work through it? I wish we would have groups meeting in homes to work through this. I would hope that Connect Group classes would find time to meet together outside of Sunday and pray and follow this God-promised plan for revival. I wish you would get up earlier to do this daily. I wish you would take your lunch break to do this. I wish you would turn off the TV at night and work through this. 16

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21 Pastor Jay Dennis, Lead Pastor 1010 E. Memorial Blvd. Lakeland, FL ChurchAtTheMall.com Rev