HOW TO HAVE PERSONAL REVIVAL IN YOUR LIFE
PSALM 85: 4-7
4. Restore us, O God of our salvation, And cause Your anger toward us to cease.
5. Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?
6. Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You?
7. Show us Your mercy, O Lord, And grant us Your salvation.
EZRA 9:8
8. "And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage.
INTRODUCTORAL SUMMARY
Are you satisfied with your relationship with God?
Are you satisfied with your Christian walk?
Do you feel that something is missing?
This morning we will talk about Personal Revival
From Personal Revival we enter into a deeper walk and relationship with our Lord Jesus
I. Personal Revival [Psalm 138:7]
Psalm 138: 7
7. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me.
• Humble Ourselves before God[Isaiah 57:15]
Isaiah 57: 15
15. For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
Matthew 5: 3
3. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18: 1-4
1. At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’’
2. And Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them,
3. and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
4. "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
• Be totally Dissatisfied with Ourselves[ISAIAH 6: 5]
Isaiah 6: 5
5. Then I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.’’
John 4: 14, 15
14. "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.’’
15. The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.’’
• Do a Thorough Job of Repenting[II Corinthians 7: 9, 10]
II Corinthians 7: 9, 10
9. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.
10. For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
• Do a Thorough Job of Forgiving[Matthew 6: 12-15; Luke 17: 3,4]
Matthew 6: 12-15
12. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
13. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14. "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15. "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Luke 17: 3; 4
3. "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
4. "And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, `I repent,’ you shall forgive him.’’
• Do a Thorough Job of Surrendering Ourselves to the Care and Dependence of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit[I Peter 5: 5-7]
I Peter 5: 5-7
5. Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’’
6. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
7. casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
II Samuel 22: 31
31. As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; he is a shield to all who trust in Him.
Psalm 18: 1, 2, 30
1. I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
2. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
30. As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
Psalm 37: 40
40. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him.
James 4:6, 7a
6. But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’’
7. Therefore submit to God.
II. BROKENNESS “Be Broken Before the Lord[ Psalm 51: 17]
Psalm 51: 17
17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart These, O God, You will not despise.
• ISAIAH 66: 2
2. For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,’’ says the Lord. "But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.
• GALATIANS 2: 20
20. "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
summarizes what brokenness is all about. It is “Not I, but Christ.” We want to be like Christ, but we do not want to be rid of pride.
Pride must be dealt with in our hearts if we are to show forth
Christlikeness. The proud self within us must be broken. We cannot want our own way and His at one and the same time. No, we must surrender ourselves and bury any self-glory- that God may be all and all to us. We would be surprised at how much self dominates. For example, we attempt to let self live the Christian life. Look at how often we use the word “try” in relation to our living for the Lord. What about Christian work? Many times we employ self to do the work. Consider also the sins of the self-life. What about sins of attitude? Being irritable, envious, resentful, and critical of others are sins of the flesh or self. Those sins of worry and fear cripple us in our fellowship with the Lord. When
things go well, self produces self-complacency, self-pity when we face trials or afflictions. Self further produces sensitiveness, touchiness, and self-defense when we are hurt or wronged by others. These must be dealt with before Christ can fully live His life in us.
When we sin, God convicts us. Brokenness is the response of
humility to conviction from the Lord. God deals such with us every day, many times a day, in order that we may be broken and walk in fellowship with Him.
And He sends trials into our lives in order that self may be broken more and more and that Christ may shine in our lives in ever increasing degree.
Afflictions may take many forms. It may be a devastating circumstance, or it may be the vexing of our souls by someone irritating us. It may be constant interruptions or multiplied sorrows in one form or another. But whatever the affliction, we must yield to God over the whole matter and accept whatever happens as the Lord’s will for us. Then we must bring the wrong reactions that we may have toward suffering to the Lord and ask His forgiveness allowing His restoration to work in our lives. How good all of this is! How sweet is our Lord!
Brokenness is necessary if we are to ever learn to lean on Jesus.
We are prone to lean upon ourselves, and to react to temptations and trials according to the self-life. God loves to be trusted, and He wants us to completely lean upon Him. Now we recognize this to be a lifelong process, and one that is not easy. But God loves us too much to leave us to ourselves. He wants only that which is best for us
• I JOHN 1: 9
9. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
• ROMANS 8: 28
28. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
III. Return to Our First Love [Revelation 2: 4]
Revelation 2: 4, 5
4. "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
5. "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent.
WHY IS HE [JESUS CHRIST] OUR FIRST LOVE??
1. He first loved us
I JOHN 4: 16-19
16. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
17. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
18. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
19. We love Him because He first loved us.
2. Jesus shed His blood for us
HEBREWS 9: 22
22. And according to the law almost all things are purged with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
3. Jesus became that “once and for all” sacrifice for all of us
HEBREWS 10: 12-21
12. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,
13. from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.
14. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
15. And the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before,
16. "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,’’
17. then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’’
18. Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
19. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20. by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,
21. and having a High Priest over the house of God,
We are in need of Personal Revival.
