In case you haven't noticed, I have been doing a daily devotional aimed at hearing God's word before our Revive '09 Retreat which begins tomorrow night @ 7 pm. God has truly moved and spoken to many during this time of fasting and prayer and daily devotion. Please pray for all those who will be involved with Revive.
2 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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
These words from 2 Chronicles are the simplest explanation of revival. Whether it is revival of the individual, revival of the family, revival of the church or revival of the nation, it begins with four simple ingredients: humility, prayer, seeking, and turning.
We also need to understand that this formula is not directed toward the lost. I encourage you to never preach revival to the lost because it cannot apply to them. When we preach to the lost, we are to preach Jesus Christ and His salvation only.
When God gives an edict to “people, who are called by my name,” He is referring only to those who are His children.
That leads me to my first point – when there is a spiritual sickness in the land, never point the finger to the lost world. The lost world is without the guidance of God’s Spirit. The lost world cannot grasp God’s truth and therefore cannot live by it. If there is a spiritual decline in a nation that once proclaimed “in God we trust” it is not because of those who don’t believe.
Our nation’s spiritual condition is a direct reflection on the spiritual condition of God’s people. It is we who need to be humbled, to pray, to seek His face and to confess our sins. Revival of our land is our responsibility, not Washington, DC or Hollywood’s or Disney or Wal-Mart.
Don’t misunderstand me - I appreciate the effort that many ministries try to bring about legislation, enlighten our retailers and fight for decency – but it is all worthless chatter until God’s people begin to deny themselves and follow Christ.
2 Corinthians 13:5Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
The idea of self examination is exampled throughout the scripture (remove the plank from your eye before removing the splinter from you neighbor’s eye).
If you’re like me, you probably hate spending money on medical exams. I not only worry about what it will cost me, but I also worry about the outcome. I see a dermatologist every six months and every time I wonder what he’ll find next.
In the same fashion, I think many of us dislike the idea of spiritually examining ourselves on a regular basis. “I’m doing fine right now and compared to the world, I’m doing really well,” is often my attitude.
But examination is something we need to perform on ourselves regularly. And when I look at my spiritual heart, I need to see it as God sees it – not as I want to imagine it. It’s only when I seek to examine my heart in comparison to the perfect heart of Christ that I’ll realize my needs and find myself at the point that I can begin to follow God’s plea for His people.
Are you ready to humble yourself? Are you ready to seek His face? Are you ready to pray and to turn? If we truly desire revival, it begins with us, not the world.
2 Corinthians 1311Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 12Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13All the saints send their greetings. 14May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Daddy, I pray you give me the strength to continually humble myself before you. Daily I want to repeat, more of you, less of me.
Your son,
Jody
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