Newspapermen from London went to see firsthand the marvelous happenings of the great Welsh revival at the turn-of-the-century. On their arrival in Wales one of them asked a policeman where the Welsh revival was. Drawing himself to his full height he laid his hand over his heart and proudly proclaimed: “Gentlemen, the Welsh revival is inside this uniform!” He had caught the holy fire.
Charles G. Finney defined Revival as:
“Nothing else than a new beginning of obedience to God. Just as in the case of a converted sinner, the first step is a deep repentance, a breaking down of heart, a getting down into the dust before God, with deep humility, and a forsaking of sin.”
Evangelist Gypsy Smith was once asked how to start a revival.
He answered: “Go home, lock yourself in your room, kneel down in the middle of your floor. Draw a chalk mark all around yourself and ask God to start the revival inside that chalk mark. When He has answered your prayer, the revival will be on.”
2Ch 7:12 And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.
2Ch 7:13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.
2Ch 7:15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
2Ch 7:16 For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
2Ch 7:17 And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments;
2Ch 7:18 Then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel. {There...: Heb. There shall not be cut off to thee}
2Ch 7:19 But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;
2Ch 7:20 Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.
2Ch 7:21 And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house?
2Ch 7:22 And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.
1. It requires humbleness
2. It requires removing the Hindrances
3. It will lead to Healing
In the previous chapter Solomon had just completed the heart’s desire of his father David: He had built the Temple in Jerusalem!
• Finally a permanent home for the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the Presence and Power of God among men!
In Verses 1 – 11 it reads of how God’s presence was on Solomon and how the fire came from heaven to devour the sacrifices and all the people in the temple saw how God had blessed and Solomon had finally sent them away to their tents with a happy heart.
God goes on to instruct Solomon as to what should be done if there is a drought, or pestilence or even a swarm of locusts to devour the crops:
2 Chronicles 7:14
2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.
Revival – How to obtain it
John Basham, Prayer is the backbone of a revival.... Instead of substituting new ideas such as religious films or social entertainment, why not really try the God-given method for revivals: Pray without ceasing.
1. It requires humbleness
a. A young woman went to her pastor and said, "Pastor, I have a besetting sin, and I want your help. I come to church on Sunday and can’t help thinking I’m the prettiest girl in the congregation. I know I ought not think that, but I can’t help it. I want you to help me with it." The pastor replied, "Mary, don’t worry about it. In your case it’s not a sin. It’s just a horrible mistake."
b. 2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face
c. Gerald Flury - Humility means two things. One, a capacity for self-criticism. ...The second feature is allowing others to shine, affirming others, empowering and enabling others.
d. Does it bother you when others get the spotlight and you don’t?
e. James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up.
f. ACC - Submission to God’s authority will precede humiliation of soul, and genuine repentance is performed as in the sight of God
g. 2Ch 7:17 And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments;
h. 2Ch 7:18 Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel. {There...: Heb. There shall not be cut off to thee}
i. 2Ch 7:19 But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;
j. 2Ch 7:20 Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.
k. GBN – Vs 20 Declaring that God had more concern for their salvation than for the advancement of his own glory: and where men abuse those things which God has appointed to set forth his praise, he withdraws his graces.
By Humbling it is the starting point to remove any hindrances
2. It requires removing the Hindrances
l. R.A. Torrey gave a prescription for revival:
“I can give a prescription that will bring a revival to any church or community or any city on earth.
“First, let a few Christians (they need not be many) get thoroughly right with God themselves. This is the prime essential. If this is not done, the rest that I am to say will come to nothing.
“Second, let them bind themselves together in a prayer group to pray for a revival until God opens the heavens and comes down.
“Third, let them put themselves at the disposal of God for Him to use as He sees fit in winning others to Christ. That is all!
“This is sure to bring a revival to any church or community. I have given this prescription around the world. It has been taken by many churches and many communities, and in no instance has it ever failed; and it cannot fail!”
m. Humbling ourselves before God is required so we can identify what the hindrances are. Humbling makes removing the Hindrances easier.
n. Vs 14 reads turn from their wicked ways
o. That sounds to me as the hinderances are being removed.
p. Prayer is a way to clear the hinderances – Bruce Ball says, ““The call to prayer was the battle cry of the early congregation: it rallied the troops. These people understood the power of prayer. They actively and consistently included prayer in their services, in their events, their meetings and their personal ministries.”
q. 2Ch 7:13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
r. FBN - No evil comes upon individuals or nations without the permission and control of God; and he is able and ready, when they are duly humbled, to remove it and manifest towards them new tokens of his favor.
s. Pr 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
t. Pr 28:14 Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
u. We have become inured to the cultural rot that is setting in. People are losing their capacity for shock, disgust and outrage. During the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Damian Williams was filmed crushing an innocent man’s skull with a brick, while Henry Watson held the victim down. When Williams was finished, he did a victory dance. Watson and William’s lawyers then built a legal defense on the premise that people cannot be held accountable for getting caught up in mob violence. ("I guess maybe they were in the wrong place at the wrong time", one juror told the New York Times). When these men were acquitted on most counts, the sound you heard throughout the land was no outrage, but relief.
v. How far are you going to allow things to hinder you having a personal revival. In 1992 it wasn’t a shock when Mr. Williams crushed the innocent man. It is 2006 now and how much further has our culture digressed?
w. The same is in our spiritual life, what was once shock years ago isn’t even considered a problem now. We need to get the hindrances out of our way to have revival. What are some of them?
x. Living as close to the World as we can (If you don’t stand out in the store or mall you may be living to close to the World)
y. Someone has done you wrong…and you haven’t forgotten it. That Attitude will hinder revival.
With Hindrances out of the way the Healing process can start
3. It will lead to Healing
z. Vs 14 Then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
aa. James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
bb. ACC - Mourners and penitents lay on the ground, and rolled themselves in the dust. When comforted and pardoned, they arose from the earth, shook themselves from the dust, and clothed themselves in their better garments. God promises to raise these from the dust, when sufficiently humbled.
cc. When we truly humble ourselves before God, we will be healed of our weak Christian experience, we will be healed of all indifferences, and we will be healed of all non-caring attitudes for the lost.
dd. Raymond Perkins - Revival happens when God visits His people and He wakes them up spiritually. Revival can happen at the group level, at the individual level, at the community level, and even the national level. One of the most famous revivals in the last century was the Wales happen in many different levels. revival where 100,000 people came to Christ in five months.
ee. This revival was so powerful that they had to start closing down bars because people stopped going to them. They had to let the wardens off at the prisons because there was no one to put in jail. The whole nation was having revival. The most amazing thing to me was that the mines were having trouble getting the mules to work because so many of the miners got converted to Christ and the mules only knew how to work when they were cussed. The miners stopped cussing and the mules didn’t know what to do. You know what was said about the Wales Revival? The churches are full of people and the people are full of God.
ff. A healing is brought by true repentance,
gg. Ac 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
hh. There was a cartoon several years ago in the Saturday Review of Literature which showed little George Washington standing with an axe in his hand and lying next to him on the ground is the famous cherry tree. He has already made his admission that he did it -- after all, he "cannot tell a lie." But his father is standing there exasperated saying, "All right, so you admit it! You always admit it! The question is, when are you going to stop doing it?!"
ii. Healing will come when we, as Paul Fritz says,
jj. DECLARE THE GREATNESS OF GOD’S NAME. Proclaim the reign of God’s name in your life, in your business and in your relationships. When people see and hear and experience how Christ’s name is exalted as the one who reigns supreme in all matters of life, then we will see the Lord’s glory fill our communities. The Lord wants to rule in the heart of every aspect of our community including its spiritual life, political affairs, social concerns, financial realms, health needs, family affairs, educational institutions. When the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is given pre-eminence in all things, then the blessings of the Lord will come abundantly
Revival is possible if we do it on God’s terms. Humble ourselves, make sure all hindrances are gone and Healing will come. Are you willing to figuratively Draw a chalk mark all around yourself and ask God to start the revival inside that chalk mark.
J. Packer - 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 Revival always begins with a restoration of the sense of the closeness of the Holy One.
Second, the gospel is loved as never before.
Then repentance deepens
Finally, the Spirit works fast: godliness multiplies, Christians mature, converts appear
Revival Happens when we make God’s desires our Desires, when we decide His will not our will, when we work on God’s time table and not when we want to. We can go through these upcoming services and nothing happen, or we can lay ourselves out before God to ask him to revive each of us.
Are you ready for Revival?
