READ : PSALM 85 : 4 - 7.
4 Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.
5 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?
7 Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : JOHN 5 : 19 -6 : 59 & JOB 30 : 24 - 31 : 4.
In spiritual parlance, revival presupposes that backsliding has hitherto taken place. In other words, it is when people abandon their spiritual fervency that the need for revival becomes inevitable. In Christianity, revival is a term that generally refers to an increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a congregation or church, either regionally or globally. This should not be misconstrued with evangelistic meetings that churches conduct to bring about salvation of lost souls. May the Lord revive His church in Jesus’ Name. What happens when revival comes? According to our Bible reading today, people turn away from their wickedness when revival
comes. Salvation becomes a household commodity among the backslidden and the anger of God ceases to burn against His people. A typical example of revival is recorded in Jonah 3 : 4 - 10 concerning the people of Nineveh. One pleasant thing about God concerning sinners and backsliders is that He will always warn them so that they may repent and escape His fiery judgment. The Bible says :
“But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?”
Ezekiel 18 : 21 - 23.
Another thing that happens when revival comes is that God answers the prayer of sinners contrary to the general opinion that He does not. However, it is the prayer of repentance that God honours before any other, as seen in the case of Manasseh in 2 Chronicles 33 : 12 - 13. Revival brings about total restoration of both spiritual and physical wellbeing. The true sign of revival is when people turn completely from their past wicked ways and turn a new leaf of godliness ( 2 Chronicles 33 : 15 - 17 ). This is contrary to what we experience in the church today where people claim to be born-again and yet still maintain the status quo of their past sinful lives and habits. Manasseh died a repentant sinner and had peace, even at death according to 2 Chronicles 33 : 18 - 20. Your beginning may not matter, but how you end is what matters the most.
PRAYER POINT :
If you are a sinner, pray for the salvation of your soul and if you are a backslider, pray for revival and complete restoration.
THEME : WHEN REVIVAL COMES II.
MEMORISE : Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. PSALM 51 : 10.
READ : PSALM 51 : 1 - 3.
1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : JOHN 6 : 60 - 8 : 30 & JOB 31 : 5 - 15.
In what areas of your life do you think you need revival? What do you think you have done that has taken you into a backslidden state or what deadly error have you fallen into that has put you in danger of hell and perdition? Today is the day of revival, repentance, forgiveness and restoration of your joy of salvation. Revival is not miracle-working; it is increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of holiness and complete obedience of a people towards God.
The first thing a man who wants to experience revival must do is to realise that he or she has sinned, according to Psalm 51 : 3. In Psalm 51, we see David praying fervently for revival and restoration after he sinned against God via adultery and murder. He asked God to have mercy on him; he craved the loving kindness and tender mercies of God. He pleaded for spiritual cleansing after acknowledging his sins. This is where many so-called born-again Christians, particularly those who have been pretty old in the faith often miss it. They feel that they don’t need to say the “sinner’s prayer” again because of their long-term Christian walk. They are like the Pharisee of old who went to the temple to display his superiority over the publican (Luke 18 : 10 - 14). Whenever a wise man discovers that he has fallen short of God’s approval and favour due to sin, he throws away his ego and humbles himself before the One who can forgive and forget. God is easily found when we seek His face in earnest penitent prayer according to the experience of Manasseh in 2 Chronicles 33 : 12 - 13. The Bible in 1 John 2 : 1- 2 says:
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
What the Lord is telling us in this scripture is that, it is expected that a child of God should live sin-free, according to 1 John 3 : 8 - 9. However, peradventure anyone finds himself in sin, he must quickly cry to God in penitential prayers so that he may be restored and spiritually revived again. The next thing is that you must have faith in the word of God and the blood of Jesus Christ for cleansing. Appropriate the blood of everlasting covenant and make up your mind not to go back again.
ACTION POINT :
Check your life and see if there is anywhere you have gone amiss. Do not hide it or pretend as if nothing has happened. Confess it to God and let him revive and restore you.
AUTHOR : Pst E. A ADEBOYE.
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