Palm Sunday: 5 Ingredients To Real Revival

Just as Jesus came into the ancient city of Jerusalem back then, He’s come again and again into our churches and our lives. He came physically then but He has the ability to come even more powerfully now. He is here in this room but His presence can become even more apparent. The atmosphere can change and we experience His royal presence. We call these times a revival or an awakening. It's a time when God Himself visits His people.

Periodically great awakenings punctuate our spiritual history. It’s the time when God comes near. The streets of Jerusalem were alive that day – alive with the splendor of the King. Do you desire to see the streets of DFW alive with His splendor?

I wonder why so many of us are so sluggish today? For the next few moments, my goal is to see us to burn with a fresh desire to praise Him as they did on this day some two millennia ago. Oh, that our streets would blaze with the splendor of the immortal King as they did in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday!

Perhaps God would grant me the ability to speak a sentence today to incite your enthusiasm for Jesus this morning. If only our hearts would be set on ready and we sit on the edge of our seats with a passionate desire to see Him come again down the streets of our city. Maybe God will permit me the opportunity to inflame someone’s soul with a fervent desire to welcome the King in our midst today. Would this be the day when heaven and earth again ring with His praises?

Today’s Scripture

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,

‘Behold, your king is coming to you,

humble, and mounted on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:1-9)

Today, I want to speak to you about Five Essential Ingredients of Real Revival.

1. You Get Excited

Times of worship and awakening happen are astonishing. There are simply times that no one can explain – when the fullness of the Spirit breaks out on God’s people. It’s as if Christ has ridden among His people over and over again.

The 1857-1858 Awakening in Wales

There’s this terrific story about a little boy. There was a revival that broke out, a tremendous movement of the Spirit of God that broke out in Northern Ireland in the county of Derry, in a little town called Coleraine, I think. Here’s how it broke out: One day there was a little boy who had been going to church. He was about twelve years old and he was in school. He was very unhappy, and he found himself getting depressed and crying, and his teacher tried to help him out. Then finally the teacher said, “Look, I don’t know what’s wrong, but you need to go home.” Actually, the little boy had been coming to church and was wrestling with whether or not he was a Christian and what it meant to be a Christian. So the teacher suggested, since he was very upset, that another one of his friends, another little boy, take him home and then come back. It turned out that the other twelve-year-old boy was a Christian, and on the way home he was talking to his friend and he found out he was wrestling with what it meant to be a Christian and he explained it. His Christian friend sat down and talked to him and led him to Christ. He showed him what it meant to put his trust in Christ. When this happened, they were so excited and so happy, and the little boy who was brand new in the kingdom, turns around and says, “There’s no reason for me to go home. I’m going to go back to school. I feel great.” So what happens is they go back to school. Now, you know it’s a revival when boys want to go back to school.