Loyal, OK

 
Pastor Leon Seaton

What Is Revival?

If we want a powerful move of God in our church, it will begin with prayer. After Solomon dedicated the Temple he spent the night in prayer as an act of personal dedication. God’s message to Solomon is a powerful reminder for all of us that spiritual renewal starts with prayer and repentance for our sins. See 2 Chronicles 6:7-42.

James Packer writes that "Revival is the visitation of God which brings to life Christians who have been sleeping and restores a deep sense of God's near presence and holiness. Thence springs a vivid sense of sin and a profound exercise of heart in repentance, praise, and love, with an evangelistic outflow."

Each revival movement has its own distinctive features, but the pattern is the same every time.

First God comes. On New Year's Eve 1739, John Wesley, George Whitefield, and some of their friends held a "love feast" which became a watch night of prayer to see the New Year in. At about 3 a.m., Wesley wrote, "the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried for exceeding joy, and many fell to the ground." Revival always begins with a restoration of the sense of the closeness of the Holy One.

Second, the gospel is loved as never before. The sense of God's nearness creates an overwhelming awareness of one's own sins and sinfulness, and so the power of the cleansing blood of Christ is greatly appreciated.

Then repentance deepens. In the Ulster revival in the 1920s shipyard workers brought back so many stolen tools that new sheds had to be built to house the recovered property! Repentance results in restitution.

Finally, the Spirit works fast: godliness multiplies, Christians mature, converts appear. Paul was at Thessalonica for less than three weeks, but God worked quickly and Paul left a virile church behind him.

James Packer, Your Father Loves You, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986. www.sermonillustrations.com

There are two categories of sin:

1.     Sins of commission – the things we do that should not be done.

2.     Sins of omission – the things we should do that are not done.

         We need to do a “check-up from the neck up!” If you asked God if He is satisfied with your level of spiritual maturity and activity, would you like what He told you?  "Ask, and it shall be given you." Matthew 7:7, 8

          If you agree with me that we need revival, then we have to ask why we want one. This may seem like a dumb answer, but if we have any reason other than seeking to glorify God, we will not have revival!

"Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss, to consume it upon your lusts." James 4:3

Having a revival – spiritual renewal – is hard work. Not because God does not want to bless us, but because true revival calls for a change of purpose in our personal lives. It may not be as bad as having a root canal done, but it does take persistence and perseverance!

         Matthew 7:8 "Every one that asks receives, and he that seeks, finds."

When we pray we should realize that our prayer may not be answered like we think! Paul asked the Lord to remove his thorn in the flesh. The Lord said, “No, but my grace is sufficient for you – my strength is made perfect in your weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

 Some prayers are not answered because they may not be a true prayer. It may only be “the form of prayer.” When you pray be sure that you are not just hinting! Tell God what you need, and ask for wisdom and insight!

A person that has “truly prayed” will anxiously wait for the answer! My father-in-law enjoyed ordering clothing from a mail order company. They were notoriously slow, but he loved the product, and he appreciated the price.

After he placed his order he would start looking for his package – eventually he would call the company to make sure the order had been received.

When we pray we should have the same eager anticipation for the answer!

If your prayers and petitions are not answered, perhaps you should consult the manual. The Bible describes God’s conditions of acceptable prayer.

1. The right state of mind.

Humility

Reminding God and ourselves of God’s promises

Obedience: Our relationship with God is a covenantal relationship. Covenants are two-sided. I have to keep God’s commands if I expect Him to keep His promises.

2.    God wants to answer our prayers!

The prayers have to be according to God’s will.

3.    God is more concerned about our spiritual state than He is about our wants being answered. A few weeks ago I noticed a sickly tomato plant in the rock garden in front of our home. I plucked it out of its environment and handed it to my wife, a devoted gardener. She replanted it in soil that was designed to grow tomatoes, and we got tomatoes! If you are rooted and grounded in God’s word you will receive more answers to your prayers!

NO HUMILITY, NO REVIVAL!

 The angel Lucifer became Satan because he turned his eyes from Almighty God to himself. He was the angelic choir leader and a very beautiful creature. Apparently he thought that those two qualities made it possible for him to compete with God!

Satan declared, “I will exalt my throne above God.” That was supreme pride – the very opposite of humility! The focus of pride is what “I will” do. My way, my will, my plan, my concept of God, my concept of righteousness!

        Thus revival starts when we humble ourselves, then throwing ourselves on the mercy of God we ask for His forgiveness. We should never resist God or insist that He is wrong and our concept of righteousness is correct.

       John the Baptist had one theme in his preaching: REPENT!  Then he baptized them in water – by being baptized they were publicly declaring that God was first in their lives and that they would be walking in obedience to God and His word.

 Revived Christians are a people of prayer.

Jesus told us to pray without ceasing. As an example of what is called desperate prayer, Jesus told a story about a family that had gone to bed and was probably asleep when they were disturbed by a neighbor pounding at their door in desperation.

The neighbor needed some bread to feed an unexpected guest. The homeowner angrily slammed the window shut because he and his family were down for the night. But the neighbor would not be denied.

       The neighbor was determined to get his answer. He kept on pounding and shouting until, just to shut him up, the homeowner went to the door, shoved some bread out of the door, and then went back to bed.  

Why did the man answer his neighbor’s petition (prayer)? Not because the neighbor had a need; not because of the neighborly friendship. No, it was his neighbor’s desperation that won the day!

When you and I want revival in our church as bad as that neighbor wanted a loaf of bread, God will answer our prayer because God wants to revive us!

So Jesus said, “Keep on asking and you will receive. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened.”

In the Old Testament God promised, “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek for Me with all your heart.”

What does it mean to “seek God’s face”?  

“The Lord cause His face to shine upon you

And be gracious unto you.

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you

And give you His peace.”

To seek God’s face is to be in His presence.  Seeking God’s face is not asking God to “do” something, it is asking for God’s very presence.

I think we have all been in God’s presence on special occasions, but it is possible to be there daily.

Pat Robertson notes, God wants us to enter into a new relation with Him. Not just like a little child, full of requests for things from his father, but as a mature son or daughter who knows the Father, is in tune with the Father’s will, begins to think and act like the Father, and can take responsibility in the Father’s kingdom.

       We need to ask ourselves if we are ready to enter into a new relationship with the Lord. Are we truly willing to deny ourselves and follow Christ as never before?!! God said, “If my people shall pray.”

Pastor Don Yocom writes, “When I was a student in college the spiritual emphasis week speaker preached his heart out and nothing much happened. Then students became concerned and we had a prayer meeting about it. Some of the students, under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, began talking to people they had wronged and asked forgiveness. Upon being reconciled, they came together to the services in the college chapel and a gracious time of renewal swept over us. It all came because we confessed to each other. It never fails to happen. It can happen in visitation from home to home, as we straighten out misunderstandings and honestly ask forgiveness from those we may have wronged.

We must confess to God, too. If renewal does not come, it will not be God’s fault. The prayer of Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:14 included penitence that was acceptable to God, and He blessed that nation abundantly. During the reign of Solomon, the Kingdom of Israel was at its peak.

We must confess our sins of omission, also. More sins of omission plague the Christian than do sins we actually commit. We neglect doing the proper thing, or saying what we should have said, at the proper time. St. John wrote, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

Sunday, September 2, 2007