Psalms 85:1-7
6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?
1. The Plea For Revival
(a) The Source Of Revival
(b) The Sovereignty Of Revival
(c) The Search For Revival - God answers prayer.
We should stop asking IF God can send revival, and start asking WHEN will He send it!
2. The Person Of Revival - Wilt Thou… Power is found in:-
Praying – Luke 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
Preaching – 1 Cor 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
Practicing – Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
3. The Power Of Revival - Wilt Thou Not Revive…
The idea of being “re-vived”, means that one must have first been “vived,”or alive.
(a) This work of revival is for the saved. God steps in and breathes life.
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Man ruined it, so Jesus came to our level and died…to give us life. That is POWER!
No other person can take the lifeless and bring life into it, yet God can.
(b) That same principle can be applied toward a local church.
When Jesus left this earth Acts 1, we find the church in the upper room praying for Power They were a lifeless body, but then Pentecost came, and they heard the wind!
God took a dead local church and brought life. Again, That is Power!
Revival restrains the righteous anger of God, restores the conscious awareness of God, and reveals the gracious activity of God. - Stephen Olford.
4. The People Of Revival Wilt Thou Not Revive Us…
In the context of Scripture, the us referred to is the nation of Israel.
The idea of revival is to bring life into something that HAD life, but lost it.
Five phases in every historic revival:
(1) Intercession -- God's people unite in prayer;
(2) Revelation -- God pours out a fresh new manifestation of the person of Christ;
(3) Consecration -- God's people consecrate themselves to Him, and each other, and to the work of Christ in the world;
(4) Revitalization -- ministries are purified and rejuvenated and become more fruitful, both locally, nationally, and beyond;
(5) Expansion -- out of revival the gospel is advanced further.
